Never Forgive Me, Never Forget Me
by On Dark Wings
Summary: The Master Chief is on his final battle on both Earth and Space. But what about the Covenant? Was the Ark and the Great Journey truely what they were after all along, or was there something else? First Fanfic. Chapter 16 is up!
1. First Flight

**Halo 3: Secrets Untold**

Summary: The Master Chief is on his final battle, on both Earth and space. Can he stop the Prophet of Truth and the Covenant, before they figure out a secret that can change the outcome of the war?

Hello everyone! This is my first fan fiction so please go easy on me. The beginning starts out where it left off in Halo 2, a bit rough at the beginning but should settle out in later chapters. Just to warn you, there might be a few Cortana/Master Chief fluff romance stuff in later chapters, whatever you want to call it, but nothing too serious. It's basically feelings, emotions and all but nothing too intense, if you know what I mean. Give this a go, and enjoy the first chapter! Halo, and everything to do with Halo, is the property of Bungie, not mine.

MizzStarlight

Chapter 1: First Flight

_Last time:_

"_We've got a new contact, unknown classification!"_

"_It isn't one of ours. Take it out!"_

"_This is Spartan one-one-seven. Can anyone read me?"_

"_Isolate that signal! Master chief? You mind telling me what you're doing on that ship?"_

"_Sir. Finishing this fight."_

_-------------------------------------------------------------------------_---------------------------------------------------

John knew it hadn't been long since he left High Charity, along with Cortana. He knew he had to complete his mission; to stop the Prophet of Truth. As he walked down the corridor, he checked his ammo. Only a few rounds left, and that won't do any good, since he assumed there would be many guards and patrols along the way. He came around to turn a corner, and searched for any signs of patrols. None. For a ship with a Prophet on board, it was poorly protected; he thought. His mind suddenly drifted for a second, and realized, just how much Cortana had been there for him, even though she might of said useless comments, she always served as great company. John shook himself out of his thoughts. He had to stay focused.

He came across the first door. Probably another corridor, he thought to himself. Walking up cautiously, he readied his gun and prepared to fire if anything was on the other side. The doors slid open and peered inside. Nothing. Something was definitely wrong. For large ship, there definitely weren't many guards around. This might be easier than I thought it would be, he thought, but still kept his guns at the ready.

John kept a fair pace as he walked down the endless corridor. It was filled up with locked doors with unfamiliar writing upon them. He could tell that he was going up the Forerunner ship, rather than descending lower. As a familiar saying goes, the Princess is locked at the top of the highest tower, but where John was going there would be no Princess. The loud alarm of the ship blazed through the corridor, and echoed all around. A voice suddenly popped up from the speakers. "The demon is on the ship, do not let him escape!" said an outraged brute. "Eliminate the demon! Do not let him tread upon the holy floors! Protect the Holy One!". The once locked doors opened, starting from the bottom of the corridor. Many covenant forces started to pile out in the corridor and march upwards to eliminate the threat. There is no way I can face that many enemies with this amount of bullets, he thought to himself, and decided to finish them off after he had killed Truth. He discarded his pace and started to run up the corridor, where Truth was thought to be held.

As the end of the corridor became clearer, and the faint noise of the covenant forces became fainter, John stopped and observed his surroundings. The end of the corridor, or at least he thinks is the end, is much wider, and has a greater light illuminating the walls. There is a fairly large, decorated door at the end of the passage, which is guarded by two, monstrous brute honor guards who, in fact, couldn't see the Master Chief. John drew his gun and prepared for a fight, if not a battle in case reinforcements arrived. He aimed his gun and shot one brute in the head, and another in the brute's neck. The brute fell to the ground, while his partner threw himself at the Chief. John shot one bullet in the brute's chest, and dodged the attack from the brute, and shot another bullet in the brute's back and pushed him to the ground. Dead. There were only Brute Plasma Rifles available to pick up, and John decided that it would be better than nothing. He advanced on the doors and opened his comm device. "Admiral, this is Spartan one-one-seven, requesting permission to engage the enemy." After a few seconds, a reply came. "Permission granted, Master Chief. Good luck". John knew that that would be the last time he would talk to a human if he were to fail the mission.

Knowing what to do, John kept his finger on the trigger, and crept up to the doors. They slid open and he took in a quick view of the room. Very little guards, due to the fact most of them were in the endless corridor, not much obstacles or protection, and the Prophet of Truth on the far side of the room. John did his best not to be seen and managed to creep up to the closest wall on the side of the Prophet. John was about 5 meters away before he decided to be visible among the rest. His hard footsteps ran up to the prophet and seized him from the back, grabbed his Brute Plasma Rifle and shot him with it. The Prophet was weak, but his screams were heard throughout the room, and alerted the remaining guards. In the covenant language, the prophet screamed in his high pitched voice, "Do not let him escape!". Even though John didn't understand the language, the guards split into two groups. While one was advancing on the chief, with the half dead prophet in his grasp, the other group was heading for the controls. John let go of the Prophet and shot at the second group. He was too late, and only succeeded in jamming the controls. A red light had already surged through the entire ship, which had started to descend towards Earth. The forerunner ship was set on a collision course with the planet, and there would be no way to stop it.

It all happened so fast. The Forerunner ship gaining more speed. Flashes of red light. Screams seemed to be coming from the covenant forces. Earth getting closer and closer until...CRASH! And everything turned black.

End of Chapter 1: First Flight.

This is just the beginning. Like I said it's my first fan fiction so please tell me if I am doing ok, or if there's anything that you want me to fix. I'm not very good at planning battles so I apologize if it wasn't that good. The story gets better as you go on, and I've planned out some of the chapters. But so far, even I want to see where this goes.

Please review if you want me to continue!

Hope you enjoyed!

MizzStarlight


	2. A Secret Discovered

Thanks for reviewing guys! About the third and first person view thing, sorry about that but it just happens while I write my stories. I only do that so that so that you can keep track of who's talking or who's thinking, rather than saying a word over and over again. Also, sorry if I might put a lot of Cortana stuff in this story, but hey, she's my favorite character in the game! Well here's chapter 2 of my story. I don't own Halo...unfortunately. Enjoy!

Chapter 2: Secrets Discovered

_Last time:_

"_Silence fills the empty grave, now that I have gone. But my mind is not at rest, for questions linger one. Now I will ask and you will answer."_

"_Alright, Shoot."_

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Gravemind sighed in relief, and asked "Where is this place that you call 'Earth'?". Cortana paused. She knew she couldn't tell him anything that would lead him there, so she did the only thing she could do; lie. As she told him the false coordinates, Gravemind felt an energy spike, and withdrew from the conversation. "Until another time, construct". That was strange, thought Cortana. Since when does an over sized green vegetable leave a conversation like this one?

To preoccupy herself, Cortana scanned through the High Charity network, looking at any file that seemed of importance. Without changing any electric pulse through the network so that she wouldn't alert Gravemind, she dug deeper, into the core of the files and began searching. Spec-ops missions and previous battles were stored in the hundreds of files deep within High Charity's system. She suddenly stopped. Cortana paused to look at the file that seemed to be radiating much more information to her, and started hacking her way into it. She read over the file, once, twice, it couldn't be possible. The file was on the flood and how they were made, and the destruction of the Forerunners. The file read:

"_When we, the creators, experimented with different materials, trying to create a new race that will certainly live longer than all of us, a human species that would live forever, something went terribly wrong. We calculated every risk there was, where one ingredient would react to another, and that test was cleared. Yes, our test went perfectly, a new species was born, and we stored the so called 'successful' experiment into a cryopod. While we laid to rest for the night, a terrible curse had bloomed upon us._

_The next morning, we woke to find some of our companions dead, our flasks and chemicals poured on the ground, and what was worse, the experiment was gone. The cryopod doors were torn in two, and scattered glass littered the floor. Just then, we had realized our biggest mistake. The experiment had no mind. When we mixed the 'Elixir of Life' with the 'Vile of Strength', we didn't realize that the potions would fuse to make a living, yet undead creature of galactic strength and power. The creature was then named, Gravemind, meaning that the creature has a mind that reeks of death, and power._

_As we realized that the monstrosity was breeding and creating more of it's spawn, the creators and myself decided to create an opposing force; one that would counter-attack the failed experiments. Yet we knew, in the wrong hands, the weapon would be deadly, but we took the chance. So we started, and learned from our previous mistake._

_We used different materials this time. We gathered the Vile of Strength, and mixed it with the Potion of Beauty, and the Calming salve, to keep the experiment strong, beautiful, yet calm so that it wouldn't lose itself among it's anger. We added the essence of the strongest of our minds, the intelligent, the powerful, the calm, the beautiful and the imaginative, which fused together to make one mind. Yet something was missing. The brain made out of the essences were put into the experiment's mind, all the creation potions were put together, and the creature's shape was formed, and yet something still wasn't right. There needed to be an object added, so that the experiment would know what it was created to do. The creators and I discussed for hours until we came up with the two, perfect objects. We wrapped it's hand around a shield, and then another grasping a sword. The Elixir of Life was added, and the experiment was carefully put into the cryopod, and just in case, was carefully secured with our strongest bindings. This experiment took 7 days and 7 nights to complete, but in the end, it was astonishing._

_The creature stepped out. It was a female. She was walking. She had a fair body, and her skin seemed to shine. She was thin, and we could tell she was very strong by the way she carried herself, but she wasn't bulky. Her face was like it had been carved by the heavens, sparkling, midnight eyes with a touch of purple. Her hair was long from the front, but shorter from the back, and was the color of a deadly black, with streaks of a blueish-purplish color. Her face was angular, sculpted with lush lips and a small nose. In every way, she was perfect. I myself went up to her, and asked, "What is your purpose?". She replied with a gentle smile, "To protect my master, and kill those who oppose him". I was amazed, stunned that she could walk, talk, and know her purpose. She was a goddess of perfection._

_By the time we had finished perfecting the experiment, Gravemind had already started to build his army of the dead; the Flood, we called them. They opposed us, and from the previous installations we feared to activate, we had no choice. The Flood were already advancing on our home, our labs and creations. Yet our successful experiment still had to complete her long way of training, so she was rendered useless for the battle. We couldn't lose her in the fight, so we shipped her off to another creation of our own, The Temple Of The Ark, and put her into a never ending sleep. It was made clear, that due to that last option for her, we called her the Sleeper. _

_And so the prophecy goes, that after the rings were activated, and all my companions perished throughout the blast with the Flood, the Sleeper would remain forever asleep, until the chosen one would reawaken her once more, and only then will Gravemind and his children fall to rest. The only problem was, the name 'Sleeper' wouldn't fit her once she was awake, so, in relation to the shield and sword, We named her Cortana, protector and guardian of the chosen one."_

_End File-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Cortana just stared at the file in the middle of the Covenant city's network. So many questions were going through her head. Where is the Temple of the Ark? What forced the Forerunners to make such a big mistake? Where exactly was the home of the Forerunners? And why did she have a nervous feeling it was related to her? She shoved those questions aside and focused. She knew she had to get off High Charity to share her knowledge of the file. The problem was, how was she going to get off with no carrier, and with Gravemind around?

End of Chapter 2: Secrets Discovered

Poor Cortana. Well, now you have discovered that this will be a story for Cortana lovers, but don't worry, there will be more action from the Chief later on. Man, I have to tell you, It took me AGES writing up this chapter. I got a basic idea of what the Forerunner file was going to be about, but that was only a sentence or two. For all those who thought I kept going on and on, I'm sorry, but hey! It's a file containing a recount! And if I end up turning Cortana WAY off character, please tell me how to change it so that I don't end up turning the outcome of this story. Anyways, if you enjoyed please review!

MizzStarlight


	3. A New Alliance

Hey guys! It's me again. Just to make it clear, yes, I have Halo, otherwise I wouldn't be making a fan fiction about it. Cortana's totally wicked hyper smartness will come in this chapter ). Also, if you're a "Miranda Keyes" fan, and you enjoy my stories, please don't hurt me because I might put her in a special profession for this story, but it's just for this chapter I think, because I don't know that much about her yet so I'm probably changing a few things about her, not on purpose though. I mean, who doesn't twist the character's personality even the tiniest bit? Man, you're going to hate me for this one...

I don't own Halo...sigh.

Chapter 3: A New Alliance

_Last time:_

"_Why...the Ark, of course"_

"_And where, Oracle, is that?"_

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Commander Keyes and Sergeant Johnson looked up from the Arbiter, to the Monitor. "According to the given data, I presume that the Ark is located around...here". A hologram materialized between the three standing figures and the elites. The monitor hovered beside it. "Wait, is that what I think it is?" questioned the Commander. "Damn right it is, Commander. It's Earth". The Arbiter observed the looks on the human's faces, and could tell that they were upset, but shocked at the same time. Something then popped up in his head, an idea. He had a thought, and turned to the two much smaller figures. "Humans, you fight with honor and bravery, but if you would like, maybe a temporary alliance can be formed". Commander Keyes was about to reply, but Johnson was quicker and answered, "If by temporary you mean you're going to kill us off at any time you like, think again, split-lip!". This provoked a dangerously low growl from the surrounding elites, and a zealot replied, "You dare to challenge the honor of a Sangheili's word, human?". The Arbiter held up his hand and his warriors held their place. Commander Keyes took this as an opportunity to give in her say.

"A temporary alliance would be a great idea at this time, but if we got off this ring with a functional ship, the only place to go would be where my superiors are, and I'm not exactly sure that over 35 years of war between us will help make their decision turn out for the best".

"I understand, human, but for now it might be the only option we have got to offer. Think of it as a service, as an apology for what we have done to your kind", said the Arbiter. Commander Keyes knew that Johnson was giving her a glare, but shook it off. Not everyone would have the guts to form an alliance with a lifetime enemy. Miranda held out her hand, and the Arbiter, knowing it as a formal gesture, shook her hand. "It is settled then. My brothers, no one shall harm these humans. For now, we must find a proper vessel for a trip to High Charity", said the Arbiter. Commander Keyes stuck beside Johnson, and followed the elites down the structure. They passed corridors, openings and cracks in the ancient ruins. The so called "Oracle" led them through the 'well-known-in-his-eyes' structure, until they found themselves looking at an operational phantom, guarded by 5 brutes. The orders were given, and the elites engaged their camouflage. They definitely weren't going to let this opportunity pass them by. Three of the 18 elites had successfully killed the brutes with once swing of their swords, while the other two were shot down, dead. Comments like "You are no warrior" and other words in the Covenant language were said, and then the elites, humans and the Monitor boarded the craft. Commander Keyes and Sergeant Johnson watched as the Arbiter, Half-Jaw and the rest of the elites piloted the phantom and set a course for High Charity. Miranda took a seat in one of the over sized chairs, obviously designed for an elite, while Johnson took a defensive position beside her. It was going to be a long trip, and with the watching elites around, it wasn't going to be a pleasant trip.

"We have arrived, humans". The Arbiter announced, and walked over to where Johnson was, and where the Commander was half dozing off. It was uncommon for a Commander to be sleeping in the middle of a phantom, full of elites where anything could happen, but she was tired, and she had only received the basic training of a marine, mainly how to fight. She snapped out of her sleepy mind, and followed the elites out of the phantom. A scarlet elite stopped her just before the lift and said, "Careful, Commander. A weary mind is weak in battle. We don't want you dead because you lack experience". He chuckled slightly, then left without a sound. Just was the heck was that supposed to mean? Johnson, watching the conversation, came up to her and announced, "Man, if any of those bastards insult you one more time, I might just have to rip him a new..."

"Johnson! I'm fine. My father taught me not to let things get to me, and even you know that". The shadow of an elite overtook them. "Humans, we must hurry. The Parasite is spreading and we must get to a ship" said the Arbiter. The Commander nodded, and jumped down the gravity lift, followed by Johnson and the Arbiter.

The elites had their weapons drawn as the Arbiter and the two smaller figures walked the floors of High Charity. The Arbiter told them to stay close, as they scanned the corridors and large halls for any survivors. There were no corpses, only large, marsh coloured bubbles that seemed to be pumping every few seconds. The question that made their nerves tingle was, where was the flood?

As the Arbiter and the rest of the group traveled deeper into the stench filled rooms, a small spark lit up across the broken covenant computers, and disappeared. Suspicion started to arise among the group of elites as the door of the room they all entered came to a close, and locked down with no way to open it. It was the only exit; they were trapped. The spark in the computers lit up again, and a rough, life-sized hologram popped up from the projector; Cortana. She was standing, and giving them a familiar look, but they could tell that the projector was in bad shape due to the blurry-than-usual image it projected. "Cortana? What are you doing here, and where's the Master Chief?" questioned Sergeant Johnson. "The Master Chief is on a Forerunner ship hunting the Prophet of Truth, unless he already killed him. That's as far as I know. As for what I'm doing here? I was left behind so that I can stop a remote detonation. Oh, and you should check out what I found in the network of High Charity". And, before they knew it, Cortana had already started to give instructions on how to get out. "Exit through the door which you just came through and I'll guide you from there. I suggest you be careful, flood are guarding the closest operating ship. Be on your guard." As Cortana finished her speech, the locked door opened, and the relieved group scurried through the deserted halls of High Charity.

Not much flood was encountered on the way, as Cortana led them through the last door. The terminal next to the door fluttered with sparks, and Cortana appeared. "This last door is heavily guarded on the other side. I'm sorry but the best thing I can do is to activate the one remaining turret on High Charity's defense system. It will kill some of the flood, but the rest is up to you." She paused for half a second. "There, the turret is activated and working successfully. The only thing you should do is avoid the turret's blast and kill any flood that stand in your way. Then, you can activate the flagship's gravity lift as soon as you get to the controls near the front of the ship".

"Cortana, you have to come with us. We can't leave you here" said a worried Commander.

"I know. But Gravemind might figure out that I've left the system," and she paused for the final time, and looked worried for a moment, and made her decision. "Alright...yank me". Cortana disappeared and a data chip popped out of the terminal. Miranda took hold of the chip and placed it in one of her pockets. "Humans, I'm not sure that the turret will hold long against the flood. Let us leave this place", suggested the Arbiter and the humans turned and gave him a small nod.

Bullets were firing and energy swords ripped the air apart, as elite and human joined together to fight the flood as one force. High Charity's turret had done a lot of damage, and the flagship wasn't far off; just a few meters away. The Arbiter slashed through the flood and ripped them apart with agile strength, while his elites where pushing the flood forward and eliminating anything that stood in their way. The Commander and Sergeant Johnson stuck together fighting the flood, and they too pushed forward with the elites with no trouble fighting the parasite. The Arbiter had just reached the foot of the ship and just a few centimeters from the control for the grav-lift, when a combat form slashed his claws at the Arbiter's side, the one that was damaged while he was retrieving the Sacred Icon, and it tore open. The Arbiter cried out in pain and slashed his sword at the combat form, and clutched his side. He reached out for the controls once more and activated the grav-lift. The ground around the ship started to shake as the grav-lift appeared from the flagship. "Quickly! Get on!" shouted the Arbiter amongst all the noise, as the elites and humans boarded the ship, still firing their weapons in mid-air. The Arbiter painfully killed all the flood in his way and boarded the ship. The view of the battlefield came to a close as the gravity doors swirled to block the view, and the ship started to take off.

The white elite commander known as Half-Jaw came up to the Arbiter and asked, "Arbiter, we haven't lost anyone, three of us are wounded and the humans are in good...what is the matter, Arbiter?", and the Arbiter removed his hand from the wound, only to find more blood gushing out of it. "The Arbiter is heavily wounded! Get a medical team up here immediately!" exclaimed Half-Jaw, only to find one elite coming from the control room replying, "Commander, we don't have a medical team at this point. We can roughly close the wound, but any movement might open it again". The Arbiter stood there watching the conversation, until a female voice came out from behind. "I can help". The elites turned to face the human commander. "What do you know of medical care, human? You can't possibly cure a Sangheili's wounds with your hands". Miranda just stared at them. "I know more than you do, and if you don't give me a chance, then your Arbiter will die of blood loss". The elites growled and shot comments at her for thinking she could cure an elite, especially the Arbiter, but still led her into the medical bay along with the Arbiter and gave her a "You'll be dealing with the Sangheili's wrath if you do anything to him" look. Miranda got started straight away. Sure, she knew the basics and some more complicated methods just for emergencies, but she had never tested them on an elite before. As Miranda looked at the wound, recognition finally dawned upon her. She was the one who shot him in the first place, and with no idea what to say, she ended up whispering "I'm sorry". The Arbiter nodded and motioned for her to continue. The bandaging process took a few minutes, but she could tell that the Sangheili was watching her every move, and was put under a lot more pressure. Not much conversation took place, and after finally getting the bandages to stay in place, she told the Arbiter to wait where he was and not to move, in case the bandages would fall out of place; again. "Listen, I need to get some of the other elites to help you up. I know you think you're capable of doing that yourself, but if those bandages come loose again the bleeding would just get worse". And she left him sitting in the medical bay.

When he heard that the Commander was bandaging the Arbiter's wounds, he almost lost it. He promised himself not to let her do something that stupid as long as he lived. Sure, she was superior than him, but she didn't have any experience fighting these guys if she got in a messy situation. The sight before Sergeant Johnson couldn't get any stranger. The Commander emerged from the medical bay doors, with a half purple blood stained top, and her hands almost completely blue. The elites were staring at her like a bunch of school kids would to a person who said something that didn't make sense at all. The Monitor, who seemed to be popping up everywhere, stared to look at the new arrival. And on the covenant terminal, Cortana had literally frozen in mid-sentence to turn and see who had just entered. "Alright, I know you think I've done something wrong, but I need two elites to come help the Arbiter up. I don't want the bandages to fall off for the second time", and as she turned around, two elites followed her through the medical bay doors.

The elites had finally managed to get the Arbiter up without ruining the work Miranda had done. The elites in the control room were silently controlling the ship's movements when the sliding doors opened to reveal Commander Keyes, two proud elites and the Arbiter leaning on one of them for support. The white armored elite, Half-Jaw, came up to the Commander and said, "Well done, Commander. Your abilities have been proven well". The Commander nodded and walked away, while the other elites welcomed the Arbiter on his successful return. Sergeant Johnson, like always, had to have his say, and talked to his leading Commander. "Commander, with all due respect, but just what the hell were you thinking when you decided to help the Arbiter?". The Arbiter, as if on cue, motioned for the human Commander, and exited out of the room silently. "For your information, Johnson, these ex-covenant are now our only chance of survival. And when it means the survival of our people, I'm willing to take it," and she followed the Arbiter out of the control room once more. Before she left, Johnson whispered so low that only he heard, "You're going to be the end of me one day".

End chapter 3: A New Alliance

Wow. I got stuck on this one BIG time, but it's still my longest chapter so far. And guess what! At the moment, I'm working on Chapter eight, which in my opinion is moving very smoothly, except for the fact that I don't know what to write in it. No jokes people. So, how do you like the "New and improved Miranda?". Yes, I know, I said it'll only be for this chapter due to having no idea what to write, so don't burn me yet, I'm just getting started! Honestly guys, I have no idea where I'm getting this from, just the first thing that pops up into my head. Give me your thoughts and tell me how to improve, or if there's something you want me to add, tell me and I'll see if I can fit it into the story. And please, tell me how I should put Miranda's personality like, and how she acts because we don't see much of her in Halo 2. I know, I ask too much of you guys, but I can't help asking my favorite reviewers on advice. I'm hoping to put up the next chapter soon. Yes people, for all those who are wondering where the Chief went, he'll be in the next chapter. Hooray!


	4. Reawakened

Yes, I know I said the Master Chief will be in this chapter, so don't fret. You'll probably recognize where the scene would be from anyways. Yes, I posted this chapter early than usual because I don't want angry fans saying "why the hell did you turn Miranda into a healer?". This chapter will basically tell you that I have NOT turned into an insane, mental freak; (Hopefully). Happy Reading!

Chapter 4: Reawakened

Cortana scanned through her memory to find the file she had saved on High Charity. She knew it was there, she could sense it, yet something was blocking her from accessing it. She heard whispers, yet she knew they weren't coming from the outer world. _I have questions that need answering, and you will be the one to answer. _She knew the voice as Gravemind's. He was trying to manipulate her, but she wasn't going to let him. She finally got access into the file. _I wouldn't do that if I were you._ Cortana refused to listen to him, and entered the file's contents. She soon regretted it as she felt her system shutting down, but her mind felt active. The unfamiliar feeling stopped, and she found herself in a completely different world. She wasn't trapped in the data world, yet neither the real world. Whispers that seemed so distant, yet so familiar haunted her. _Remember the prophecy. Return to us. Return to me._

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He woke up. He could feel the wreckage of the Forerunner ship pressed down on him. He tried to remember the previous events. Lots of corridors, patrols piling up, killing the Prophet of Truth, and the collision course. His muscles were protesting, but he tried to move from under the ship's weight. He could tell that the color of his armor was scratching away by the noise of metal on metal, like nails on a blackboard. He managed to get the heavier pieces off him, and easily worked on the smaller ones. John-117 stood up and observed his surroundings. There was a lot of wreckage, he was on a dry place, not much life forms. And there were no human bodies in sight, which meant that the ship hadn't hit a town of some sort when it crash landed. The Master Chief walked up the dry land and started to walk through a large, but hollow piece of wreckage. A rough, but firm voice enters his mind. _"I have defied Gods and Demons". _The voice was alien to John, but still so familiar. John pushed his thoughts away and continued walking. He could tell now that he was on a jagged edged cliff, since he could see the view stretching miles away. He was half-way through the hollow piece, when the echo of the previous voice started in his head. "_I am your shield. I am your sword". _The voice was much clearer, and definitely feminine. His mind knew that he had heard the voice from somewhere, but it seemed so long ago. He continued to walk, ignoring the questions that were forming in his head. The wreckage came to an end, as he was just a few meters off the edge of the land. He came to a halt, as the voice spoke once more, and realization hit him. _"I know you. Your past. Your future". _And then, he heard a scream through his headCortana. Her voice was the very thing that calmed him the most, that assured him that he would be safe. Yet her high pitched scream that followed her strange sentence made him think twice about her safety. Was it right to leave her on High Charity? A buzzing noise filled the atmosphere, as flagships, banshees and phantoms pierced the sky. John followed their direction and ran to the edge of the cliff. The covenant ships were surrounding a strange structure, which had just started to crack open. Light was blazing out of it, as the folds of the building started to open, and ripples like earthquakes shook the ground. The covenant crafts started to pull back as a white energy force started to appear from the structure, and started to expand. John heard her voice once more. _"This is the way the world ends", _and then hears her scream one last time before his vision whited out.

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Cortana was still trapped in her own mind. Following the voices was an easy task, but she was still curious on where they would lead her. A strange sensation warmed on her again, and she was teleported into a dry world, yet everything seemed to stand still, frozen in her eyes. She walks up the dry path that leads to a familiar figure, standing still, unmoving on a cliff's edge. The Master Chief. She runs up to him and tries to tap him, to get him to face her, but only succeeded in passing right through him. She should of known. This was only a scene from the past, one which had already happened only frozen in time. A large, open structure caught her attention; the Ark. The whispers from the people she had heard guided her, and Cortana, without knowing, blinked and found her transparent body inside the Ark.

The room was large, and circular, with three long passageways to her north, south-east and south-west. The pressure on her lifted, and she was in control of her own body again. Her heart and mind told her that she had been in the over sized structure, yet her instinct told her to ignore it. She looked at each of the corridors, and stopped at the one to her south-east. She could of sworn that the ancient Forerunner symbols around the doorway were telling her something. _Remember us. Return to me. _She took that corridor. The whispers seemed to be getting louder and louder, pulling her into a kind of trance, until she entered the room which sent thousands of daggers into her. There, surrounding the table, were ghostly figures with a human like appearance, yet with markings on their skin that looked much like the lines on an Arbiter's armor. Cortana, she assumed, were the Forerunners, yet much more ghostly. As she moved closer to the figures, they created a pathway for her through the middle, and each gave her a reassuring smile. Cortana, taking her chance, spoke to them. "What is going on?". This only seemed to amuse the Forerunners even more, and gestured to the table in the middle, which they were all surrounding. Cortana stepped up the stairs, to find a human body lying on the table.

It was hers, yet not exactly the same. The lying form's hair was slightly longer than hers, and what amazed Cortana, was that the figure on the table was breathing ever so lightly. She took one last glance at the Forerunners. This was the prophecy that they wanted to fulfill, to reawaken the sleeper, or, Cortana's Forerunner/human form. But it still didn't make sense. Who exactly was the chosen one? The body before her seemed to be speaking to her, saying _"Return to me, and fulfill your true destiny." _Cortana found herself drawn in, and she reached out to the figure's face. As soon as her transparent form touched her human self, Cortana found herself being sucked in the breathing body, and all went dark. The last thing she heard before falling asleep was, _"Our master will find us soon, young one. Don't be afraid..."_

End chapter 4: Reawakened

Well, that's chapter 4 for you. Hope you enjoyed. If the Master Chief ends up going off character in this story, please tell me. I don't know why, but I'm always freaked about putting the characters OOC, I guess I just got to get used to the character's personality without changing them too much, except for Commander Keyes, I think. Next chapter will be up soon.


	5. Roommates

Hey people! I know the previous chapters haven't been up to my standards, but please don't give up on me now! I'm just getting started! For people who want to see battles, I'm afraid you're going to have to wait at least five or six chapters. Just the fact that I'm not good at writing battles up; yet. Ok, with Johnson and his character, I've decided to let him take up more roles. Yes, that means he will be saying some witty comments in this chapter, and hopefully the rest. Also, I've added a bit of humor into this chapter, if you would like to call it that. Or, you can call it complete randomness, but anyways. This scene will be back to the flagship where Commander Keyes had just got called by the Arbiter. I don't own Halo.

Chapter 5: Roommates

Commander Keyes now stood in the flagship's main meeting room. She had no idea why he was calling this conversation, nor did she know what it was about. Miranda sat down in once of the over sized chairs and waited. _I better take Johnson's advice on this one._ She thought.

The Arbiter sighed deeply and started. "Commander, you might be wondering why I held this meeting. It is a matter that has just recently occurred. I apologize, but...hmm...I believe we have some company." The Arbiter unlocked the door to find a bunch of elites standing, startled, and a very annoyed Sergeant Johnson sprawled across the floor. "Well it's about freakin' time! I thought I'd have to wait till you finished the whole conversation before you spotted us!" exclaimed Johnson. The Arbiter ignored Johnson and continued, "The elites here are our monitors for this flagship. Your Sergeant here, decided to join us. I believe you both need to hear this". The Arbiter gestured to the elites. "We believe we have detected a...problem with your construct." said one of the elites. "What do you mean by 'A Problem'? Man she better not of gone rampant," said Johnson in a matter-of-fact way, while Miranda Keyes put on a blank face. "Well that's exactly the problem," said another elite, "your construct seems to have disappeared off the entire network. We cannot get a trace on her".

"What do you mean by 'disappeared'? Isn't her memory core in the terminal anymore?" Miranda said.

"Her memory and mind is still inside the memory core, but we believe that she has completely shut down, for no reason. I believe we have to run this flagship without a construct, for now". The Arbiter thanked the elites and they left. Sergeant Johnson and Commander Keyes remained behind, miserable looks on their faces. "How much more heroes will we lose because of this useless war," Commander Keyes said to no one in particular.

The journey continued as the flagship, now named as the _Undying Justice_, continued her way to the Cairo. A question that had been occurring among the elites is whether they could trust the human's superiors on keeping them safe, rather than locking the elites up or shooting them at first glance. Communicating with the superiors wouldn't be that hard, it would just take longer with the disappearance of Cortana. The plan was to basically let the flagship be sensed on the radar but still stay hidden, and get a communication channel up and running linking from the Cairo to the _Undying Justice. _The elite watching over the communication channels picked up a message coming from the area. Commander Keyes and Sergeant Johnson looked at the elite, and nodded to him, allowing him to proceed. A clear message came on the screen. _Ok, bastards, come out. We know you're there._ Commander Keyes smiled at the sentence of a brave marine. "Link us to the E-band channel and I'll see what I can do from there", ordered Commander Keyes. The elite patched them up and Miranda spoke, "This is Commander Keyes reporting from the _Undying Justice_. Do not fire on us. I repeat do not fire weapons. We request permission to come on board." A rough voice came over the speakers. "Commander Keyes this is Lord Hood. Permission granted. And just who is flying a flagship of that size with you, Commander?"

"Well, it's hard to believe sir, but we have Sergeant Johnson, the Arbiter and his elites with us. It's a long story, sir, and I'm sure we'll have time to explain later"

"Alright Commander Keyes. I'll notify an escort to make sure you arrive safely"

"Thank-you, sir," and the communication closed. "Well that went well. Next time why don't we say we got the entire ex-covenant army in our grasp! That will interest them" stated Johnson. Miranda Keyes sighed and turned to face the rest of the elites and the Arbiter. "I believe we have successfully convinced one of my superiors to let you on board. Yet there are others which I'm not so sure of. We will just have to find out when we get there". The Arbiter nodded in approval. "Alright. Move from our position and get ready to land on the Cairo," and he moved to Miranda and whispered, "I'm trusting you to keep us alive, human," and walked off.

The landing on Cairo wasn't very hard, but the difficult part was going through the crowd of trained-to-kill-covenant marines who were giving them an evil glare. Lord Hood was waiting up the front with a few guards. Miranda Keyes and Sergeant Johnson saluted to him as they stood up in front of the growing crowd. "Commander Keyes. Sergeant Johnson. Good to have you back. I believe we need to discuss some issues with our...guests". The few marines who were hired as an 'escort' walked behind and to the side of the elites. Most elites were amused at the bravery of the marines, and commented. "Humans, there is no reason to point a weapon at us. If this is an act of bravery to you, it is only foolish in our eyes," chuckled a zealot. An excited marine responded with a "Can it split-lip, or you'll find yourself with a one way ticket to hell!". This comment received a few growls from the elites, but didn't go unnoticed by a very annoyed Commander Keyes. "Boys, save the comments till later. I'm in no mood for childish behavior," and the rest of the trip was quiet from then on.

An empty room was found and everyone but the guards were seated. There was a few minutes of awkward silence before Lord Hood began. "Well I honestly don't know what to say, but let's make this quick. Firstly, congratulations on both of you for making it here alive," and gestured to Commander Keyes and Sergeant Johnson. "As for the rest, I know we have had many problems during the past years, and we have heard that you seek an alliance with us. What exactly forced you to change your mind, to make this decision?" asked Lord Hood. The Arbiter spoke up. "My brothers and I have been betrayed by the prophets, along with the Hunters and Grunts, as you would call them". Lord Hood nodded and motioned for him to continue. "Our prophets filled us with nothing but lies. They told us that you, humans, were the ones who opposed the Forerunners, our gods. We had no choice, and in our anger, the war was started. We had no idea of the lies the Prophets were telling us. But now, we now the truth behind all of it, and thought it was only best to make amends for our trouble". The guards around the room remained motionless, and Lord Hood sighed in relief. "That is quite an interesting story. For now, I think that this alliance will be possible, unless there are problems that need to be discussed. If we survive this war, we will hold a more formal meeting and then permanent rules can be discussed. If you're lucky you can hopefully return to your families back at your home world". This seemed to brighten up the elite's war filled eyes. "I think we are done for now. Commander Keyes, Sergeant Johnson, I'm trusting that you will give our guests somewhere to rest while we prepare the _Undying Justice_ for a trip to Earth. We need to get rid of as much Covenant as possible. Goodnight, and I wish you luck for tomorrow's trip. Dismissed". And he left the room.

Commander Keyes and Sergeant Johnson each led the elites into a corridor filled with rooms in each door. They all stopped at the end of the corridors. "Listen, I know you might be thinking that sleeping won't do any good in a war, but I'm afraid thats all we can do at the moment. These two rooms should fit your needs, since they are the largest we have on this corridor," said Commander Keyes, as Johnson took over. "Alright listen up here, split-lips, thanks to our generous Superiors, you were allowed to have the two most expensive rooms in the Cairo. If we find it a mess because you have been doing god-knows-what in there, we'll make sure to make your life a living hell. Oh, and if you get any girly nightmares during your sleep, you can just wake up either the Commander or myself. Our rooms are right next to yours, so you can't miss the doors unless you're blind! Oh and by the way, if you think I'm the cranky one, wait till you see the Commander when you wake her up. Now that's a living hell!". After Johnson finished his speech, he received the most shocked but amused face from Commander Keyes; and the hardest slap across the face he had got in years. "Maybe that'll teach you to mess around with a commanding officer, Sergeant. Sorry you had to witness that boys. Don't pay attention to Sergeant Johnson," and as she started walking back, she bid them goodnight and closed the doors to her chambers. The elites started chuckling at the little performance the Commander had given them, since they would never think of a female beating a stronger male in a conversation like that one. "What are you elites laughing at? Get in your rooms before I decide to stop playin' nice with you!" Johnson said like a father would to a child who wouldn't go to bed. The elites just laughed some more, and split into two groups before they went into their own chambers and slept for the night. "Man, I'm gettin' too old for this", added Sergeant Johnson, as he too went into his own chambers to get a well deserved rest.

End chapter 5: Roommates

Well, I honestly had no idea what this chapter was going to be about, but heck! I managed it. I'm hoping to get more reviews during this story, and I'm enjoying every bit of it. Hope you enjoyed this totally strange, unplanned chapter! So, is that enough Sergeant Johnson for you, or do you want more? Heh, sorry about the slap thing, I just couldn't help it. I mean, he was going to get it one time or another, wasn't he? Fine, be that way. The Master Chief is back for a much much longer time in the next chapter, I promise!

MizzStarlight


	6. I will find you

Yes people, the Chief is finally back with more action. No, not the fighting action, unfortunately. Believe it or not, I'm actually working on the battle that comes up in chapter 10. Anyway, I had to change the words in this chapter so many times, so that I don't end up making the Chief look like a total idiot, which he is not! I don't own Halo.

Chapter 6: I will find you

The light finally disappeared and the Master Chief opened his eyes. He was exactly where he was standing before the light enveloped the whole world. The view at the bottom of the cliff reminded John of his tasks. At the bottom of the cliff, there were hundreds of Covenant vehicles that were stationed on the border of the structure, and a few smaller crafts inside the building. John knew he had to get down to the bottom, but there where no banshees or any kind of flying vehicle that could be seen from atop the cliff. A ripping noise tore the sky apart as a covenant flagship entered Earth's atmosphere, and stopped in mid-air. A Phantom deployed from the ship, and approached John at a high speed. He checked his ammo. He only had a few rounds left, but not enough to take on a Phantom's turrets and it's troops. He waited as the Phantom's gravity lift appeared a few meters away from John, dropping off a few surprising guests. "Commander Keyes?" said John, obviously shocked that a Commander would be riding with a bunch of elites, even if Sergeant Johnson was with her. "Well it looks like my boy survived all along. Didn't I tell ya Commander?" said an overjoyed Sergeant Johnson. "Listen Chief, I know you might be confused about all of this but I'll explain all of this later. Right now, I think we have a bigger situation on our hands. We need to get down to the Ark".

After warning John not to shoot once he got into the _Undying Justice_, due to the number of elites inside the ship, Commander Keyes and Sergeant Johnson explained how the alliance began, and what happened in between such as finding Cortana, commandeering the flagship and finding their way to the Cairo. After asking him if he had any questions, his only one was "Where is Cortana?". Miranda and Johnson chanced a glance at each other before telling him the little detail they deliberately missed. "I'm sorry Chief, but she just seemed to disappear out of the entire network. We still have her memory core, but it just seems that she has completely shut down". The Commander had sadly told him, and then reached for her pocket where the memory chip of Cortana was, and handed it to him. The Master Chief looked at the chip which now lay in his hand. Cortana...she was truly gone. In his head, John farewelled Cortana, but kept her memory core with him, as a reminder of her. Gently putting the memory core in his belt, he moved over to the elites who were piloting the flagship. He heard a rough chuckle behind him. "Well, Demon, we meet again." said the Arbiter as he stepped away from the shadows of the ship. "I believe that the other humans have told you everything, have they not?"

"Told me enough to know that I shouldn't shoot you at first sight" John replied, using his usual tone of voice. "How long will it take us to get to this 'Ark'?"

"Not very long, Demon. I believe we are still discussing on the matter of where to land. The brutes and their kin have taken up most of the ground with their ships, and we still don't know how many guards there are. We have our guesses, but if we land in a guarded spot, there are slim chances that we are to survive". The Master Chief nodded. Speaking to the thing he was trained to kill wasn't exactly the easiest thing to do, especially when all of them posed as sworn enemies in the years before. "Come, Demon, I'm sure you need some new weapons. Those won't do you any good in the task we are about to face". The Arbiter led him into an armory, and left him to choose his weapons.

John decided that this would be the only time he would be in peace for a while, where it would be truly quiet without his AI. He took her memory core out of his belt. He missed hearing her voice, the sweet and spirited words of wisdom that came out of her lips, even if it was directions, or some useless rambling which always seemed to entertain him. Even when they had just survived the destruction of the first Halo, she had always been there for everyone. To everyone else, she was just a smart AI who knew how to hack and get the attention of everyone. But to John, she was a hero and a friend to him. He chanced a slight smile, and bowed his head. All of a sudden a thought popped up in his head. Cortana had once told him that an AI's mind is never completely shut down. There was always a part of it that was still fairly active. John took his chance, and put the memory core into his neural implants at the base of his neck. The familiar feeling of cold mercury pouring throughout his brain filled him, and relieved him of the breath he had been holding. Yet instead of a voice greeting him, he was quickly pulled into a strange state, where his vision was set into a white room with purple numbers, covenant letters and another strange set of words rapidly circling the round walls of the room. Just then, he realized that he wasn't in his usual armor. Instead, he was wearing the normal outfit a marine would, which was unfamiliar to him since he had spent a long time in his suit. A recognizable voice spoke behind him. "Finally decided to show up, Chief?". John turned to see a smiling Cortana, in her well known pose, crossing her arms. Yet something was different about her. She didn't exactly look like the hologram he once knew her as, in fact, she looked like a solid human. Her appearance had also changed greatly over the time, and if it wasn't for the same hair style, he would of thought she was a completely different person. "You know, staring at me like I'm a stranger won't get us anywhere," and she gave him one of her sweet smiles. "It's good to see you again, Chief".

Cortana studied the Chief with gentle eyes. She hadn't pictured him to be like this, in fact, he looked way better than she thought he would. He had those dark, knowing eyes, and stunning jet black hair. He had a strong appearance, but, like from the picture she chose him from years ago, he still had a bit of innocence on him. In every way, the man that was labeled as a 'war machine' and 'demon' was really a condemned man on the inside. And for that, Cortana truly felt sorry for him.

"You look...different" John replied

"Well I'm not exactly the one standing without my usual armor on"

"You know, I didn't exactly have a choice on what I got to wear when you put me in this place. What is this place anyway?"

"This so called 'place' is the core of my mind. Every action that I do is processed in this area, along with it is the information on the countless files I've found. Of course, it's a bit different now, due to some...changes"

The questions that had been bothering John since the news was told was finally asked. "Cortana, why did you bring me here? And why did you shut yourself out?". Cortana sighed. She knew this would come up, and stepped up to him so that they were only ½ a meter apart, and answered. "To answer the second question, I didn't 'shut myself out'. Honestly, I don't know what happened, except that I seemed to be stuck in this place which I couldn't get out of. Which leads me to your first question. I brought you here to tell you something that I had discovered on High Charity's network. Something that could possibly be related to the reason of this war. Here, I'll show you". Cortana then gestured to the right, and words started to pile up on the screen, which consisted of the file found in High Charity's network. She then started explaining to him about her interpretation of the meaning of the file, and how it related to all of the events, and leading up to the finding of her human self in the Temple of the Ark. John, absorbing this new information in, waited until Cortana had finished her long speech, and then silence dawned upon them.

John broke the silence, and he asked, "So am I to understand, that I have to get to you before the Covenant does, and you have to stay trapped in this new body of yours until being 'awakened'?," and Cortana nodded her head. "So I assume you don't have a plan," he stated. "In a way, but it is a dangerous one and I don't want to risk it. Don't worry, I'll find a way out on my own, I always do," she replied.

He heard voices calling him. _Master Chief? Are you in there?_. "They need you up there, Chief". He looked at Cortana, who was smiling down at the white floor which all of a sudden seemed interesting to her. John, having no idea what to do, tapped her chin up with his hand to see her give a slight smile, and before he knew it she was saying her final farewell. John's vision started to change before he could respond, and he made a promise to her in his mind. _"I will find you, no matter what the risk. I promise, I will find you,"_ and his vision finally blacked out.

What seemed to be seconds after the conversation, his vision finally cleared to see a worried Commander Keyes, a relieved Sergeant Johnson, the monitor and some elites watching with amusement. The the other thing he noticed was that his helmet was placed on the table to his right. "Well are you gonna tell us how the hell you ended up lying on the floor playin' dead fish?" said Johnson, obviously wanting answers. John looked down at his gloved hand to the spot where his skin met Cortana's; it seemed to be burning from the inside. And then, he remembered her memory core. He put his hand up to the base of his neck and pulled out the memory core holding Cortana. "Chief, just what the hell was going through your mind when you decided to put that chip into your head?". The Sergeant sighed when he just got a blank stare from the Chief. "Well, did it work?" asked the Commander. John grabbed his helmet and put it in place, and started walking until he stopped at the entrance to the door. "Yeah, and I have a feeling something bad is going to happen if we don't get to the Ark right now".

End Chapter six: I will find you

Sorry if the MC might have been OOC, but I'm a beginner of writing fluffy romantic stuff, especially with the MC because you don't see him spilling out his emotions every day, so please don't hurt me. Please review, I need to see what I can improve on and maybe just something to cheer me up. I like happy stuff because it makes me happy ). Next chapter will be posted up soon.

MizzStarlight


	7. A Gut Feeling

Ok, sorry about the last chapter guys, it was really bad, I know, but from now on I think things are going to get a bit more interesting, depending on how you like things. Just to tell you guys, the Arbiter now has really good hearing. If he had good hearing already, then don't pay attention to my previous statement. Also, the new characters who are introduced are my creation, but everything else which is recognizable is the property of Bungie. Enjoy!

Chapter seven: A gut feeling

After finally getting into shape, boarding a Phantom, and convincing the others that he wouldn't black out in the middle of a fight, John briefly told Commander Keyes and Johnson about the encounter with Cortana, and the information he found out. The Arbiter and a few of the higher ranked elites joined in and listened to the conversation, while the pilots were landing the the Phantom close to the border of the Ark. They had finally confirmed that the area was less guarded than the rest, since none of the brutes had found the back door entrance. When they entered the tunnel that lead into the main chamber of the Ark, they found that there were no brutes or guards that were stationed inside the room, but most were outside guarding the entrance. Another problem arose when they found the three, endless corridors running throughout the Ark. The Arbiter told everyone to stay quiet as his armor seemed to meld into the darkness of the walls, and he listened for any sign of noise. He came back with his information. "It seems that there are two groups throughout these walls. One seems to be inside this corridor, and the other is definitely in this one," and he spoke in rough whispers, while pointing to the corridors with a slender finger. Half-Jaw spoke up. "We should go to the one we are most certain with. We don't want to be wandering these halls without knowing where it leads". The Arbiter sighed, and responded, "Then we shall go into that corridor in silence, and keep your weapons ready in case we are attacked. When we find the enemy, wait for my signal before attacking. If we are spotted, fire your weapons until every brute is dead," and they all made their way into the corridor. John silently wished that Cortana would be in the chosen corridor, but he had a gut feeling that they were all heading the wrong way.

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Rekthuras, the brute chieftain who was second in command, studied the controls carefully. He was inside the Ark's main control room, and figuring out each of the controls would be a while, since they were all Forerunner. Even though he heard of the news that the Prophet of Truth was dead, he still followed his orders to "Light the Holy rings, and burn a path into the deep beyond," and some other things about the Great Journey. A brute who had managed to tap into the communication channels came up him. "What is it? This better be worth my time" said Rekthuras, obviously occupied with something else. "There has been recent news from Tarthuras," said the brute, gaining interest in his superior. Tarthuras was the first in command brute chieftain, and also Rekthuras's older brother. Tarthuras had gone off into a different corridor, in case they were wasting time by all going into one corridor which might lead to a dead end. "Tarthuras has recently found...a living creature at the end of his path. At the moment, he is heading back to his Phantom with a gift to our leader, Kronos. He informed me to tell you that he will be with you shortly". Rekthuras was about to respond when he heard several roars of his brutes, along with a few others who made a loud thump when they hit the floor, indicating that they were dead. After seeing what all the fuss was about, he ordered "Get into your battle stations! I want to see every one of those heretics dead!"

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John fired his weapon at the brutes, killing everything that stood in his way. Sergeant Johnson and Commander Keyes were doing the same to his right, and the rest of the elites where spread, charging head first into the fight. He knew that there weren't many guards in this group because there weren't many brutes arriving from the back of the room. He heard Commander Keyes shouting out "Look out! Brute shots heading this way!" and as she said that, the brutes had shot out a few grenades heading towards Johnson and Miranda, and they leaped out of the way. The grenades hit the entrance to the room, and created a thundering earthquake which sent the entrance to pieces, causing it to collapse and block the main exit. The Arbiter, who obviously knew the ranks of the brutes, spotted Rekthuras and advanced on him. Rekthuras spoke. "So, this is the Arbiter I have heard so much about. It is too late, heretic. The specimen has been found, and I will not allow you to ruin the works of the Prophets. I will uphold my loyalty, and slay you." The Arbiter only let out a small chuckle, and replied "What loyalty do you have, brute?" and he charged forward with his energy sword in hand, and with the same speed, the brute dodged his attack. The brute lifted his mighty fists in the air and crushed the ground the Arbiter was on only seconds ago, only to have an energy sword almost ripping him in two. But that still didn't stop the brute from charging head first into the Arbiter's stomach. The attack resulted with a hard fall, and just as the brute lifted his arms to deliver a final strike, he froze in mid air as a bullet pierced his bushy skin and fell on top of the Arbiter with all his weight, and pinned him to the ground. _This is a very, very awkward position I've got myself into_, the Arbiter thought, as he pushed the heavy load off him. He looked up to see the gauntlet of a Spartan offering to pull him up, and accepted the help. "Thank-you, demon", the Arbiter said as he looked around to find all the brutes dead.

Commander Keyes emerged with a sharp cut on her arm, and Johnson came out, full of pride as ever. "Well we definitely showed those bastards who's boss!" he said. Commander Keyes, on the other hand, looked worried. "Sorry to ruin the moment, but how are we supposed to get out of here? The only exit is blocked and it would takes ages to move those boulders" she said, her voice questioning their hopes of getting out. John looked around and walked over to the back of the room. There had to be something. There was always something. His eyes locked upon a control that hung on the wall in the far corner of the room, and pushed a red button that seemed to stand out among the rest. A faint tapping noise filled the room, and as his companions started walking to the source of the sound, a gravity lift appeared in the corner, and an opening in the roof unlocked to have the light of the gravity lift envelop it's walls. "It seems we have found our exit" stated an elite. The Arbiter looked around the room, as if he was looking for something. "Is something wrong, Arbiter?" asked Half-Jaw, who noticed the Arbiter's sudden curiosity. The Arbiter looked around for a few more moments, before he gave up and followed the rest of his group out of the Ark.

Luckily for the elites and humans, the top of the gravity lift led them to an area not far off their Phantom. Most of the Phantoms that scattered the ground had already taken off, but what worried the Arbiter most was where the brutes were heading. Sure, he had heard the story of the conversation between the construct, Cortana, and the Master Chief. But when Rekthuras spoke of the 'specimen', he knew that the enemies had found her before they had. It wasn't the fact that he was worried about the construct, but the fact that the conversation he and Johnson had before exiting the Phantom made him regret leaving the construct to handle the brutes on her own.

_Flashback--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

"_Sergeant, may I speak with you?" He asked_

"_As long as we're not discussing the fact that we're your dinner, then thats fine with me," Johnson replied, moving away from the others._

"_I needed to know, just how determined is your demon on finding the construct". Johnson's eyes lit up with surprise, and whispered, "Well, if the Master Chief puts his mind to the task, then he will bring her back, even if he has to search the entire Covenant armada. The Master Chief and Cortana go a long way back, and trust me on this one, they are inseparable! Like monkeys and bananas!". The last statement received a confused look from the Arbiter. "Monkeys and...bananas?"_

"_Ah, never mind," said Johnson, and exited the Phantom._

_End Flashback--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

The Arbiter stopped in front of the Phantom's gravity lift, and took one more breath before entering with the rest of his companions. Even though he had no idea what monkeys and bananas were, he got the idea that the so called Demon was just like any other human after all.

End Chapter seven: A gut feeling

Well, theres chapter seven for you. I had no idea what to write for this chapter and just sat at my desk for 30 minutes trying to think of an idea. So, I've decided to try the action theme more and more often, and I have a feeling chapter 9 and 10 will fill all your action-desiring needs. And thank you to the lovely reviewers who have the time to write a few words of wisdom about my story! Love you people! Chapter eight will be out soon.

MizzStarlight


	8. Weapon of Destruction

Yay! Cortana's back in this chapter! And she obviously hasn't had a good time with her new friend...So just to make it clear, I'm not turning Cortana into a hopeless loser, just the fact that she can't help being hopeless in this situation; bad Sleeper! Oh, and the _italics _after Cortana is awakened is Sleeper talking, but Cortana's thoughts and responses through her mind are all _underlined and put in Italics_. Tarthuras, Kronos, Sleeper and all other named characters that you don't recognize from Halo are mine. The ones you do recognize are the property of Bungie, not mine.

Chapter eight: Weapon of Destruction

"You know, they're carrying our body to that brute infested city, and all you can say is 'Patience, young one'? We should be planning to escape, not let them overtake us!" said an angered Cortana, who obviously had enough arguing for one day. Sleeper, as Cortana called her other form, just answered with a simple and calm, "I am your mind's will, and if I choose for you not to be awakened, than you shall not wake". Cortana was basically trapped in her mind, with an invisible voice that seemed to be coming out of nowhere telling her 'words of wisdom'. _I'd like to see you try to sit here in boredom for the rest of your life, _she thought to herself. "But, young one, I am you, and you are me, and if you are bored, then I am forced to share the same feelings as you," responded Sleeper.

"Great, so now your telepathic? Just perfect..." _I'll show you telepathic as soon as you let me out of here!_ She thought to herself, yet still knowing that Sleeper would hear her. Ever since she met Sleeper, she always had a feeling about her other form that reminded her of that annoying little Monitor, 343 Guilty Spark. But then again, the monitor couldn't read every thought of a person by looking at them. Cortana heard a few voices coming from the outside. _We have been given a gift from the Forerunners...Our prayers have been answered!_ "They need you, young one," said the Sleeper. "I will guide you through your journey. Remember the prophecy, you cannot harm others," and then, she followed with a whispered command, "By the shield of protection, and the sword of the guardians, you shall awake..."

Cortana felt air rush into her lungs, and breathed, but didn't open her eyes. She knew that Sleeper was teaching her how to breathe, because the AI didn't know how to breathe since she didn't have to take a breath while in the digital/data world. _Just relax, little one_, said Sleeper. _Easy for you to say. You're not the one who's breathing the foul smell of brutes._ Cortana felt herself change from annoyed, to calm, indicating that Sleeper was amused. Cortana felt a faint light come into her eyes as Sleeper allowed her eyes to open slowly, allowing her to adjust to the glowing light which seemed to be...purple. _At least I'm not color blind._ Other than that, the rough and blurry creatures that surrounded the table she was on became much clearer, and to Cortana's correct guess, they were brutes. _So this is what it feels to be surrounded by a bunch of brutes._ _Be careful, young one. Don't look so surprised to see a brute. Frightening they may be, but don't be alarmed. Remember, they think you are a gift to them from the Forerunners. I will still be here, but you must learn to do this on your own. _And with that, she felt Sleeper withdraw from the conversation, and give all control to Cortana. Remembering the feeling, Cortana continued to breathe on her own until it became a simple rhythmic pattern with her blinking. _Well done, young one. Try to get up now. When you' think you're ready, walk. I must rest for now, but I will keep watch over you. _Even though she wasn't one to obey the rules, she followed her mentor's instructions, and she felt her back lift of the table and used her arms to keep herself balanced. The brutes surrounding the table were bowing before her, not that it did any good because Cortana wasn't paying attention to them. She finally got a chance to see her surroundings properly. Brutes. Lots of brutes. They seemed to be standing in a room fit for a large audience, with lights decorating the walls. And at the end of the room, sat a mighty brute, who looked like their leader. Cortana swung her legs over the table and jumped off, while brutes made way for her. She instantly regretted her previous move when her legs buckled beneath her and she fell to the ground. _Great. I should of seen that coming._ Gasps of worry came across the brute crowd as the brute known as Tarthuras helped her up, only to bow down very low to her. "Holy one, I will ask you with deepest respects to meet our leader". Cortana, thinking she could talk, hesitantly said "Alright", but it only came out as a faint whisper.

Still, she was forced to walk with the brute, who was absolutely revolting in her opinion, and still ended up dragging her feet across the floors of the room. _Take it easy, young one. There is no need to rush._ Cortana was finally brought up to the brute leader, who stood and bowed to her. "Greetings, Holy One. I am Kronos, leader of the Jiralhanae. Welcome to the _Prophet's Blade_. Might I add, that it truly is an honor to be in the presence of one such as yourself", finished the brute, while he motioned for all the surrounding brutes to bow to her as well. _Say something, you can talk, you fool!_ Cortana swallowed hard and replied, "No, it is an honor to be sent as a gift to ones such as yourselves," and even though it came out as soft voice, rather than a mere whisper, she said it with a hint of distaste. It still pleased the brutes, and forgetting to notice her tone of voice, they all bowed down to her once more. _Not bad...for a beginner, _complimented Sleeper. _Didn't the prophecy say that I would be 'reawakened' by the chosen one? I don't think this is what it meant!_ Cortana, still trying to keep a straight face, got her answer. _Of course this wasn't what the prophecy meant, young one! Anyone can awake you, but it is your powers that need be awakened, not your mind._

_Well if you put it that way, who is the chosen one? _

_You must find that out for yourself, Cortana... _Kronos looked up to see the gift, and said out loud so that everyone could hear, "Mighty Forerunners! You have gifted us with a weapon of destruction, one that we had needed so long ago. Now, we shall use her to bring destruction to those who opposed you, and kill anyone that stands in our path!". A hundred strong roars filled the room, and then a few squeaky, hawk like noises came out of the jackals. "Holy One, it is now that we ask you, will you help us rid the world of those who denied you so long ago?". Cortana was about to say no, but Sleeper prevented her from doing so. _You must say yes, otherwise it might be the end of both of us! _

_But if I say yes, then it will be the end of all humanity! _

_Cortana, if you ever want to see that green man in armor again, then you have to say yes! _

_Alright! I'll say yes, but—hey! He's not green, and how do you know about him? _

But Sleeper had already withdrew from the conversation, and left Cortana to fend for herself. "Alright, I'll do it".

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Since Sleeper was part of Cortana's mind, she knew that Cortana couldn't feel her search through her every memory, her every secret and her every strength. Sleeper was amused by all the information stuck in Cortana's head, without having the time to put it somewhere. She had bits of information on the Forerunners, she had a huge amount of knowledge on Halo, and the rings. And she also had the Prophecy stored in her mind for later use, not that she needed it anymore. Her previous comment when she said "green man in armor" wasn't meant to be an insult to Cortana, but a hint, in fact, to remind her of who she was searching for. In a way, she thought it worked, but not in the way she intended it to. Yet the most interesting part of Cortana was her memories, most of them spent with the Master Chief, as she had soon discovered his identity. Sleeper looked at one particular memory, which made her smile, even though no one could see her happiness.

_Memory-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_The Master Chief entered his room on the Cairo and prepared to rest after a long, sleepless journey. John had just returned from space, after his mission on the _Unyielding Hierophant. _Johnson had told him about the awarding session that would occur in a few hours, so he decided to make the best of the time he had. He was just about to relax in a chair when a familiar voice greeted him. "And I thought the almighty Master Chief never let his guard down," Cortana said, as she materialized as a life sized hologram beside the Chief. "Hello Cortana. And to think I'd get my peace and quiet for once. You look different" replied the Chief._

"_Thanks for noticing, Chief. Who said I can't make modifications to myself every once in a while? Oh, and don't think you'd ever get rid of me that easily, Chief" _

(A/N: She now looks like the Halo 2 version of Cortana)

"_I never said I was trying to. Have you been able to store some information somewhere?"_

"_No, especially with those ONI section three planning to get a hand on me ASAP"_

"_Can't you store the information from here?"_

"_Of course, but anyone can intercept the information if I store it from a random terminal. No, it has to be stored from one of the more protective terminals, and that means going through ONI section three personnel". Cortana sighed, as she knew she probably wouldn't get the information stored anytime soon. The Chief looked up at her, and gave her one of his rare chuckles. "What's so funny?" questioned Cortana. _

"_Can you believe the odds of us surviving all of this? Reach, Halo, and the other situations we manage to get ourselves into?" he stated, and Cortana just smiled, and sat on one of the arms of the chair, of course it was more like hovering rather than sitting. "Well, to be exact, it's around a 1.47 to 100000 shot, but then again, you always seem to have a lucky charm on you". The Chief gave a slight smile from underneath his helmet. "You know, you should be getting ready for the party. Oh, and Sergeant Johnson asked me to tell you to wear something nice"._

"_I'm in no mood for a celebration. We're in the middle of a war, and they're out celebrating" _

"_Come on, Chief. You deserve a break from all this war. It's clouding your mind. Just have fun for once!"_

"_Cortana---" _

"_Please go. For me?" and Cortana stood up and put the cutest face on by pouting, holding her hands in front of her, and swinging from side to side._

You must be joking me..._thought the Chief, but couldn't resist the pleading look on her face. "Alright, I'll go. But I'm not moving out of this armor, whether you like it or not". Cortana just smiled, said a simple "Thanks, Chief," and disappeared from the room._

_End Memory-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Sleeper decided to stop searching through past memories, and call it a day. A voice from the outside interrupted her thoughts, and brought a hint of fear to her mind. _"Tomorrow, we will unleash the fury of the Jiralhanae, and dispose of all of those who oppose us! Tomorrow, we will destroy the vile humans, and avenge the Forerunners!". _

End Chapter eight: Weapon of Destruction

This isn't exactly my longest chapter, but it just helped to see how Sleeper's personality is like, and how Cortana acts around her. I loved making this chapter because, well, it's Cortana and she's HUMAN!! Now if only Bungie could do that...moving on! Thanks to Alpha for pointing out the thing about "Half-Jaw". I just tend to use that name because it's easy to remember, and who the heck can pronounce Rtas 'Vadumee correctly anyway? Questions about the Cortana AI/Forerunner thing will be answered in later chapters, so don't worry all will be revealed soon. Chapter nine is back to the Arbiter and the rest of the group. And, I'm going to be so nice to give you all an action-filled chapter. Please keep reviewing!

MizzStarlight


	9. Something isn't right

This chapter took me forever to write!! It's action-filled, my first try at some major battle, so don't hurt me if it doesn't make sense. The only things I own, are the marine's names that are made up in this chapter, and the plot of the story. I don't own Halo. If I did, Cortana would be a living human and walking on Earth.

Chapter nine: Something Isn't Right

"Arbiter! We are picking up a message coming from the E-band channel. It appears to be humans coming from nearby" said the elite watching over the communications. The Arbiter nodded as a signal to continue, and a voice came over the speakers. "Alright, you bastards. Don't even think about coming near us, or we'll have that flagship down in a matter of seconds! State your ranks and who you are, otherwise you can say hello to our nuclear friends!". Sergeant Johnson nodded to the Arbiter, and he spoke, "Listen soldier, we admire the little speech you gave off there, but next time would you be careful of any superior officer on board?" said Johnson.

"Is that you Sergeant Johnson? Boy, we thought you were dead! Private Warren speaking, sir!"

"Warren, eh? You better have some explaining to do, we have superior officers on board!"

"Sorry, sir. Just that not much superiors decide to show up near our base, on a Covenant flagship. Most of the time, our base is in the middle of a battle."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Private. Who's your commanding officer?"

"Sergeant Thompson, sir. But he's in a meeting at the moment. We don't know much about it, but we can tell something big is about to happen".

"Alright then, I might as well make this quick. We need to land somewhere near your base, and hopefully discuss some things with Sergeant Thompson"

"Of course, sir, we could use extra reinforcements. Anything else?"

"Yeah. We got elites on board and they are NOT to be harmed, which goes against all my personal wishes. Do I make myself clear, Private?"

"Crystal clear, sir. I'll spread the word. Private Warren out". Sergeant Johnson turned to see the elites staring at him. "What are you all staring at? You look like y'all just seen some ghost!". The Arbiter just ignored him, and told the pilots to position themselves above the base.

After the flagship had come to a stop, the crew boarded a Phantom and headed towards their destination. The Master Chief, who was quiet in all this, was in his own thoughts. _I need something to take my mind off her. Come on, you've dealt with these things before_, he thought. _Except for the fact that now, you might never see her again_ the voice in his head kicked in. He mentally noted that this was probably his consequence for getting too attached to an AI. Still, he kept to his promises, like he always had in the past. John felt the Phantom tilt slightly as an indication that the vessel was coming to a stop.

The gravity lift was activated, and he and the other two humans drifted down to the ground, and was greeted by grateful marines. Then, the elites came down, and that was when a verbal war was started. "Well well well, look who decided to show up" said a marine. "You know what, I don't care what Private Warren said, we all know that you were the ones who started this war, and killed our families. I think, it's time that we end this! Who's with me, marines?" said another marine, who received many cheers for his statement.

A proud man entered the field, which people knew as Sergeant Thompson, who seemed to be trembling slightly for an unknown cause, broke the argument. "Alright, listen up! I thought I told you ladies not to harm anyone that lands on these grounds, human or elite!". The marines just groaned in frustration, and made way for their Sergeant. "It's good to have you here, Sergeant, Master Chief, Commander. I have grave news that I must discuss with you. I hate to say this, but you elites should come as well.

"So, what you're trying to say is that the brutes are planning to attack this base?" questioned Commander Keyes. "Exactly. But what they have stated this time, is that 'you will perish, along with the rest of your kind'. Man, I've heard that so many times in the past hours, yet I haven't seen anything done" said Thompson. "Maybe, it's what they want us to think, just to scare us out or something. But we know they aren't bluffing this time. We've had several raids on this base in the past eight hours".

"Sergeant, how long has it been since the previous attack?" asked the Arbiter. Thompson just looked at the elite in ceremonial armor. "It's been quite a while, now that you mention it. Why do you ask?".

"Because I have witnessed the attacks of the brutes with my own eyes. They lead a couple of attacks, to weaken you and keep you alert. Then, when you think it's over and you have relaxed, they lead a final attack on you. It is very...unlikely that anyone is to survive," finished the Arbiter. The surrounding elites agreed with his statement.

"Well I think that we should take the bastards head on! Now that we have a few extra reinforcements, we would sure as hell blast them to bits!" said Sergeant Johnson. "I don't think so, Johnson. The thing that I'm suspicious about is why they're so sure that they're going to win this time," Commander Keyes butted in. "You know what, I agree with both of you. Sergeant Johnson is right about tackling the brutes head on. There's no way out of this, and we can't exactly abandon base. That would take a couple of hours minimum. Then again, I also agree with you, Commander. Normally, I wouldn't be one to take a brute's word on anything.

But this time, I think they're going to empty the whole load on us, you know what I mean?" pointed out Sergeant Thompson, and after a moment of silence, added "So, have we decided?". Thompson looked between Commander Keyes, Sergeant Johnson and finally the elites. By the look in their eyes, they had already made the decision. Thompson gave one more sigh before declaring, "Alright, then. I'll notify the marines to get into their battle stations. Until then, you should prepare yourselves as well. If the brutes are asking for a fight, then we'll give em' one".

"All available marines, get into your battle stations immediately! The brutes are coming back for one final visit, and what kind of marines would we be if we aren't there to greet them? I repeat, get into your battle stations now!". The message had been repeating in different versions all the time for the past ten minutes, yet all of them held the same meaning to them. John-117 stood at the front of the base with a few marines.

He could sense that there was movement coming up behind the rocky hills of the battleground, but that could be hours away. "I can sense them as well. They're almost upon us" said the Arbiter, who came up behind him. A blue light also popped up from his left.

"Greetings, reclaimer. It seems that you haven't changed much over the time I had previously seen you. Oh, don't you remember..."

"You have met the Oracle before, Demon?" whispered the Arbiter during 343 Guilty Spark's speech on past memories.

"You don't want to know," John calmly replied.

A voice came out over the speakers, but this time, different from the rest. "Alright, men! This is it. We've spotted a few of those bastards over the hills, and they're sure as hell increasing. Get into your positions and prepare for a wild ride, these brutes aren't going to let us off easily. Good luck, marines." The marines around the area got into their positions and waited patiently.

There was a lot of noise because of the loud tapping of boots on metal, and the clicking sound of guns being loaded. A voice recognized as Sergeant Thompson came over the speakers. "Ok ladies, buckle up and give these brutes hell. Marines on the guns, you know what to do. Snipers, stay hidden on the roof and shoot like you've never shot before! As for the rest of those brave soldiers down there, we wish you the best of luck. Sergeant Thompson out". The next few minutes were spent in a nervous silence, as the hundreds of marines that were spread among the base waited for the brutes.

Warm winds came up from behind the rocky hills of the battleground. The brutes were there. The marines tightened their grip on their weapons and their fingers hovered above the trigger. A rough sound of heavy feet on the crunchy soil alerted the marines, and prepared to fire. The sound was much louder now, and could tell that the brutes were close to the top of the hills, and then, the sound stopped. The snipers on the roof couldn't see the brutes from their position, so there were no sharp sounds that pierced the air.

A rumbling noise shook the ground a little, and a loud noise filled the air, that sounded very much like wraith shots. Wait a minute...wraith shots? Large blueish-purplish balls of plasma filled the air, as they came down and hit the base in a few areas. Marines jumped out of the way as some shots almost hit their positions. The Master Chief heard a few shouts from behind, and all of a sudden rockets filled the sky and cut through the air until they hit the top of the hills.

There were a few cracks that popped up of the cliffs, and crumbled away to reveal the brutes charging from the top of the hills. The marines fired their weapons, and the brutes the same. The elites were engaged in a rough battle against the brutes, and the marines were battling hard against the strength of the brutes. Snipers were shooting and rockets were firing, and the brutes were fighting just as hard to overtake the human forces.

The Master Chief took his battle rifle and aimed at the head of a brute, and shot. The brute died instantly, but alerted it's fellow teammates. John kept switching from each brutes head until all four of them died. A mighty roar filled the air as the brutes at front line charged into the marines who were facing them, and knocked out a few of them. The snipers quickly took the lead by killing all in the front row, while the marines at the back let loose a few grenades, and blew up a bunch of the brutes.

John spotted a dead brute's body holding a Brute Shot, and ran with lightning speed to grab it and load it. He started firing a couple of shots at the back of the piling brutes, hoping to set off an explosion that would kill more brutes that were hiding in the back. Another set of wraith shots filled the air, and landed on a section of the base, burning half of the area to a molten black spot. This had to end soon. Even with all the heavy damage dealing Covenant vehicles station at the back, the brutes were lessening in numbers up the front. Banshees started to arrive from the back of the field and came down swooping low, and shooting their plasma guns.

Two of them were headed for the elites, who were literally making a wall of brute bodies on the ground. The elites, experienced with their own vehicles, moved to the side, while two of them jumped on top of the banshee, threw the brute out, and entered the banshee for themselves. "Ok boys, make way for the heavy stuff, we're gonna blast them to smithereens!" said a marine, while tanks started appear on their side of the base.

Loud rockets started to fill the air as the tanks opened fire and destroyed the remaining rocks on the hills, taking down some of the brutes with them._ This isn't how brutes fight_, thought the Chief. _They're still waiting for something._ The Master Chief ran over to the Arbiter, and started to shoot at the brutes. "Is there something troubling you, Demon?" asked the Arbiter, while swinging his energy sword at the brutes at the same time. "Do you have a feeling that there's still something coming? That this isn't all they've got?" asked the Master Chief, while firing his battle rifle at the brutes.

"Actually, yes. The brutes are very inexperienced in this fight. I would assume that these are the lower ranked brutes"

"If this isn't all they've got, then how much long--" The Master Chief was cut off by a loud roar that filled the air, followed by what seemed to be hundreds more powerful roars. "I think we have found our answer" stated the Arbiter. All the brutes and marines stopped fighting and looked to the source of the noise. A loud horn blew out of nowhere, and the brutes at the front of the battlefield turned and retreated back to the hills. The marines just looked at the fleeing brutes with confusion. "I don't believe it! They're retreating, we won!" shouted a marine, and many cheers broke out among the crowd.

Half-Jaw scanned the top of the battlefield."Something is not right," he whispered, getting looks from his fellow elites who were agreeing with him. He then shouted it so that the other marines heard. "Something is not right! Get back into your positions!" The white spec-ops commander shouted. The marines just looked at him with confused looks, but then realized what he was saying. The noise of armored feet against the soil was heard again, and an army of armored brutes appeared on the top of the hills.

But the figure that stood out the most was a mighty brute leader, armored and prepared for battle, marked with a two red flags hovering above his head. "Kronos..." whispered the Arbiter. The elites let out a feral growl at the sound of the brute leader's name. Kronos let out a powerful roar, and the brutes charged forward, past their leader, and into the remaining, startled marines.

The marines up front were taken down ferociously, while the others at the back struggled to keep up with the stronger brute's attacks. The tanks fired their rockets again, but the only result was knocking the heavily armored brutes out, while little damage was dealt. The snipers on the roof were struggling to get a good aim at the brute's skin because there were barely any cracks in the hard armor.

The Master Chief aimed his battle rifle at a brute, preparing for any chance to shoot his enemy down. The brute bent over, preparing to charge at the marines, when John saw his opportunity. There was a faint line in the armor, connecting the neck to the body, and taking his chance, John shot at the exposed piece of skin and killed the brute.

The marines at the back had seen his demonstration, and began to do the same with the other brutes, almost successfully killing the front row. John tried to catch a glimpse of the brute leader, to kill him once and for all. But the brute was nowhere to be seen, not even the flags were visible throughout the mess of brutes. His eyes scanned the area one more time, until he stopped at a familiar figure, fighting off the marines, which made his heart stop in mid-beat.

End Chapter nine: Something Isn't Right

So, how do you like it? It's my longest chapter so far, and the most action filled one I have at the moment. Please review and tell me what you think about it. Oh, by the way, the next chapters throughout the story will take much, much, MUCH longer to post, because the chapters going from 1-5 were all prepared before my story was posted. The chapters after that was after my story was on for display. So, I apologize for the delay of the next chapters of my story.

MizzStarlight


	10. One man can make all the difference

Hey guys! Just like to thank all my lovely reviewers for their support, so please stay with me during this story! This chapter ends the battle (Finally). Like I said, I'm not good with battles so forgive me on my very disorganized planning of all these fights. So, after a longer wait, I have finally been able to post this chapter, and the longer the chapter is, the longer it takes to edit it! The only thing I own is Sergeant Thompson, Private Warren, and any other unrecognizable character you see. Bungie owns everything else. Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter ten: One man can make all the difference

The battle had been going for hours, with no end to the bravery of each soldier. The brutes found it harder for them to move to the marines, especially with the number of bodies of the weaker brutes, along with the stronger brutes which had fallen with the discovered tactic. A heavy wall had been put together with the dead bodies of both human and brute, almost splitting the two sides in half. This put the humans with the upper advantage, because they had most of the far range weapons on their side, while most of the brutes used head-to-head combat in their fighting. The battle continued to rage on, yet neither human or brute seemed to be succeeding in their goal to win.

John-117 snapped out of his stare, and reminded himself of where he was. The figure was charging and fighting with grace, with no scratch or mark on it's skin. _I have to get to her_, he thought, and started to push through the marines at the back, and ran to the other side of the field. There were much more brutes on this side of the battlefield, but there were less bodies that lay on the ground. John spotted her a few meters away, but the brutes were blocking every single opportunity to get to her. Instead of pushing through them, he threw a grenade towards the advancing brutes, and lessened the amount of them there.

The marines around him did the same, and John was hoping that none would hit the figure when the grenades exploded. The explosion cleared the path, and alerted several more brutes to the area. "Alright, boys, let's show em' what we've got!", and the marine threw the grenade over his head, followed by half a dozen other grenades, which set off another loud explosion, making a crater-like shape in the ground. Brutes tumbled over each other as they each fell victim to the grenade's blast, and fell into the large crater.

There was a sound of cracks as bones broke under the weight of the brutes and their armor, while other marines and brutes got blocked by the large amount of dead and unconscious bodies on the ground. _Damn, how am I supposed to get to her now?_ Thought the Chief, as he tried to catch a glimpse of the graceful figure on the field.

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Cortana slashed through the soldiers who she helped so long ago. _I shouldn't be doing this_ she thought to herself. _Listen to me, young one. You cannot stop yourself from running to pursue your own destiny, but I was made with a prophecy to fulfill. Unless someone else claims you as his or her own, then you must stay with your founders. You were made to serve, not to follow your dreams._

The argument had been going on since the beginning of the battle, and Cortana had just about had enough of this 'prophecy'. She had tried her best not to get in front row, especially with the decreasing numbers of brutes on the field, but fate seemed to have chosen her to fight in the front row of the battle between life and death of human kind.

"Hey guys, check that out!" pointed out a marine, who saw her across the field. _Perfect,_ thought Cortana. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a small round object being thrown at the group next to her. As she turned her head to see what it was, she realized that it was a grenade, but instead of warning the brutes, she ran back, away from the grenade's blast. As the grenade detonated, the brutes around the area were sent flying, and were scattered around the battleground.

Cortana turned her attention to the marines who were...advancing to meet the vicious and armored brutes? _Since when were marines brave enough to pull a stunt that good?_ Questioned Cortana in her head. From the group that had started pushing up towards the hills, a tall but recognizable figure emerged from the marines. _Oh, that's when,_ Cortana answered her own question, and started to push her way, through the brutes and towards the advancing group of marines, hoping to be noticed by them.

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"Hey, guys, I'm not sure if this is really a good time, but have you heard that there's a woman on their side?" questioned a marine. "Yeah, man. I've heard rumors and all, but I won't believe anything 'till I see it, you get what I'm sayin'?" answered another marine, who got murmured replies from the others, who were busy fighting off the brutes.

The Master Chief was listening to the marine's comments intently, trying to grasp the fact that the figure he saw wasn't some kind of hallucination. He aimed his battle rifle on the oncoming brutes, and fired at their weak spot. "Hey, Warren! Shouldn't you be down there?" asked a marine, who saw the Private coming up to meet their group. "Yeah, actually I should. But just to let you know, the elites have ran for it. I have no clue where they're going, but they looked like they were in a hurry" stated Private Warren, and he wished the group luck before departing. "Damn it! I knew those bastards wanted us dead from the start!" said a marine, who was speaking while firing bullets.

The Master Chief thought to himself, _Those elites are up to something._ With swift eyes, he glanced across the field to the brutes who were charging towards them at a fast speed. The exposed skin at their neck was hidden from the front view, and as if on cue, large explosions covered the field which lay before them, burning the ground in a pitch black. "What the hell was that?" questioned a marine. The startled group looked up to find seven Phantoms hovering above them.

One of the Phantoms hovered close by them, and the Arbiter dropped out from it. "It seems that the brute's armor is vulnerable to our Phantom's recently installed rockets. You can thank one of your mechanics for that," and as he said that, he handed each of the marines a carbine. "You'll need them for this battle. Our Phantoms will be of no use from this side of the field," the Arbiter said, as he handed the last carbine to the Chief.

John understood what the Arbiter meant, and nodded his head slightly in understanding, and the Arbiter left without a word. "Alright boys, you know what the Arbiter said! Let's take these bastards to hell!" said a marine, and the sound of flying projectiles rippled through the air, and sniped the brutes on the battlefield.

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Cortana saw the Master Chief and his group a short way off. She was just about to shout to him, when Sleeper said, _Cortana, look out! _Cortana spotted the oncoming number rockets coming from the Phantoms heading her way, and she stopped in mid-step to leap out of the way, only to find herself sprawled across the ground on the area she was previously running away from.

The spot where she just stood was pitch black, and broken from the impact of the rocket. _That was close_ thought Cortana. She stood up to look for the group she had spotted earlier on, but the smoke and dust of the black rocket marks blurred her vision. She turned her view to the front on the field, and saw many of the marines pushing forward, against the brutes. But as she looked down on the marines, she noticed that their numbers had decreased wildly over the battle, and it didn't look like their chances of survival was very good.

Cortana ran back into the lessening army of brutes, to prevent herself from being shot by the advancing marines. The smell of dead brutes entered her nose, and she found herself gagging at the horrible smell that made her shiver with disgust. _Are you alright, young one? _Asked Sleeper, curious for her friend's safety. _I'm fine_ Cortana responded, as she moved back, away from the smell. She felt dizzy all of a sudden, the foul odor must of taken a new feeling of sickness to her body, and she found herself choking on the smell. She felt herself fall on the ground, and the impact it gave her sent her into complete darkness. The last thing she heard was Sleeper screaming, _Cortana!_

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Sergeant Johnson and Commander Keyes shot from the back of the field, along with Sergeant Thompson. "You know, I'd be doin' a lot more damage to those brutes if I was up there!" complained Sergeant Johnson, obviously annoyed at the fact that he was too 'Important' to lose among the rest of the marines. "True, Johnson. But if we end up dead on that field, the rest of our people stand no chance against the brutes" said Commander Keyes. A marine sped towards them, and addressed Sergeant Thompson.

"Sir! We have just lost another line of marines, sir. I don't think we can hold out much longer!". Sergeant Thompson looked at the young marine and dismissed him. He then took out a small speaking device and said, "Emergency team Alpha, initiate plan B. I repeat, initiate plan B". The marines who were close enough to hear the command, turned to look at the Sergeant, and one of them asked, "P-plan B, S-sir?"

"That's right, son. We're gonna activate the nuclear bombs, and burn them to hell".

"Sergeant, are you sure it's safe to activate a nuclear bomb when there are many human lives at risk?" asked Commander Keyes, thinking that Sergeant Thompson had lost it.

"Oh, don't worry, ma'am. This has been tested before, not many things can go wrong with this bomb" answered Sergeant Thompson.

"What do you mean by 'go wrong'? You could kill hundreds of people with a bomb, and thousands with a nuclear one"

"Well, Commander, not with this one! This nuclear bomb is much smaller than the regular ones you'd find, and on the bright side, we made it so that it only affects brutes, most of the time"

"And just what do ya mean by 'most of the time'?" asked Sergeant Johnson.

"It means that there are possibilities that it could affect some of the marines, too. But it doesn't kill them, if that's what you think. Our scientists have recently discovered that our nuclear bomb infects the weaker marines. The infection will go, but it takes some time for the person to recover, six months minimum". The conversation had been going on while Sergeant Thompson had lead them to the safe-room, as he called it. "As soon as the bomb is catapulted over the marin--"

"Catapulted? Have you lost it, Sergeant?" asked Johnson, with a confused look on Miranda's face.

"No, Johnson, I haven't lost it. This bomb was designed to tackle the roughest scenarios we could think of. So, as I was saying, as soon as the bomb lands in the midst of the brute army, I will activate the bomb, and hope for the best that no marines are infected. There's no way it can go wrong" finished Sergeant Thompson. Commander Keyes looked at Sergeant Thompson, and nodded her head. "Alright, Sergeant. I'm trusting you to keep as much of those marines alive" she said. "I won't let you down, ma'am," he responded.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Master Chief heard a voice over the speakers, as he was fighting the brutes with his carbine. "All marines, start retreating back to the base immediately! We are initiating plan B. I repeat, retreat back to the base, immediately!". John chanced a look at the marines, who were in the middle of their own fight with the brutes. "Come on, guys, we're about to blast them brutes to bits!" said a marine, who motioned for the marines to head back to base. "Master Chief, I'll explain to you what Plan B is as soon as we get back to base" said the marine, who headed back towards the base. The Master Chief followed the marine while shooting at the brutes who filled the spot they had stood in previously.

As soon as he got back to base, he was informed about plan B, and was lead into the safe-room where Commander Keyes, Sergeant Johnson and Sergeant Thompson stood. Sergeant Thompson greeted him, and said, "The marines are in the safe zone, near the walls of the base. The bomb is just about to be thrown over the field. Let's just hope that the catapult doesn't break down at the last second, and hope that the brutes don't break down that wall either!".

He then spoke into his device, "Alright boys, as soon as you see that bomb land, I want you to notify me at once, and then come inside immediately". There were many other marines in the safe-room, who were listening for the loud explosion that the bomb would set off. "Alright boys, launch at my signal! 3, 2, 1!" And everything went silent. There was a small flinging noise, indicating that the bomb had been launched into the air, and after a few seconds, a small 'thud' was heard.

"Sir, the bomb has landed successfully" said the marine over the speakers in the safe-room. "Good work, marines" complimented Thompson, and the marines entered the safe-room through the door to the roof, followed by the elites. "Alright, men," and then Sergeant Thompson remembered the Commander, "and ladies. Let's pray for the best that this thing works. Detonating in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1" and the soft click of the button was heard.

A loud explosion was heard from the outside, and many growls of the brutes were echoing in the Master Chief's head. Then, after 2 long minutes, everything went silent. The Master Chief heard the voice of Private Warren question, "Did it work?". Faint whispers of "I don't know" and "I'm not sure" bounced off the walls, when a loud tapping noise filled the room. A marine from the outside, exhausted from the battle, entered the room and screamed out in relief, "It worked! They're all dead, it worked!". The safe-room was filled with the laughter, cheers, and claps of the surviving marines, and most found themselves going outside to see the damage the bomb had done.

The whole view before the Master Chief's eyes was a mixture of white, black and red. There was no other color in sight. There were brute bodies scattered all over the once so rocky ground. All of them were either the color of black, or others were just half-bathed in red. A voice, happy and cheery came over the speakers again; Sergeant Thompson.

"Alright ladies, I'm sure those brutes won't be coming back for a long time. Well done on your victory! Your reward is a trip downtown, we're takin' a trip, boys!". The marines cheered at this, and the Master Chief heard one of the marines say, "It's about time we got some reward around here!". But then, being an annoying ranked officer, Sergeant Thompson added, "As soon as you clean this mess up!", and this received many growls of disapproval from the marines. "What did I just hear? I said go clean this mess up, or you won't get anything at all!"

"Yes, Sir!" the marines responded, and got to work on moving the bodies. The Master Chief remembered the figure on the field. She was probably long gone by then. As he turned his head and took one last glance at the field, something made him stop in mid-turn. He immediately zoomed in to make sure he wasn't just seeing things, after a hard day. No, he was seeing her, sprawled on the floor, and face down, and almost covered in brutes. He went into a thundering sprint, startling most of the marines around him. "Something's up with the Chief, don't ya think?" asked Private Warren, and received a number of nods and murmured agreements in return.

John ran to the half-buried figure, and shoved the brutes off her, to see if she was still alive. He rolled the now exposed-to-fresh-air figure over, to see her face. She was alive, but barely. "Cortana," John whispered so low, and reached over to move some hair from her face. He was immediately stopped when her hand reached out and grabbed his wrist with a strong force, and her eyes shot open. Cortana's piercing eyes turned into a soft and gentle gaze when she saw who her rescuer was. "Chief...?" she said faintly, as her hold on his wrist loosened and she collapsed on the ground again. John gave a slight smile from underneath his helmet, and lifted Cortana off the ground. An emergency medical team arrived, and said to the Chief, "Sir, it's best if you let us take it from here.

We'll get her up in no time," and the Chief gently placed Cortana of the stretcher, and watched her disappear as they carried her off into the medical bay. He then turned around to witness the sunset, something he hadn't seen since he was a child. "Demon," spoke the Arbiter, who came up to the Chief, along with the elite known as Half-Jaw. "The Sangheili and I have decided that we need to set off for a mission of our own. A mission that we must complete, for our own purposes. I have spoken to your Commander and Sergeant about this, and we have come to an agreement," finished the Arbiter.

The Master Chief then asked, "So, what do you need from me?". Half-Jaw stepped up and replied. "Nothing. Yet we only need to inform you of our...mission. It has come to the attention of the Sangheili and I, that there is still the matter with the Parasite...it has not been stopped, and we will not stop until they have fallen. Only then will we find peace at heart, and then we can..." Half-Jaw stopped, and the Arbiter took over. "Then, we can finally return home".

The word sounded so foreign and distant to the Arbiter, yet it was so peaceful and calming. Home. It was what every soldier wanted, human or elite, after the long war that had threatened the survival of both races. "I am afraid that my brothers and I must leave you by tomorrow. Where we will go, it is somewhere you must not follow. I am afraid that any human ships will be...eliminated at sight, no matter who is on board" finished the Arbiter, regret in his eyes.

"You and your kind fight with honor and bravery, Demon. You will not need us during the final battle" added Half-Jaw. The two elites then turned around, and headed for the base, talking in their language. John turned his eyes back to the sunset, and thought of a time in the past, where he once had to choose the fate of a man, and remembered. _One man can make all the difference._

Over the next two hours, the battlefield had cleared from the brute bodies, and the stench of dead brutes had lifted during the process. Sergeant Thompson's voice came over the speakers again. "Good work, boys. Because I'm in a very good mood today, I'm gonna let you have that reward of yours. Get cleaned up and meet up in the main meeting hall in three hours! Oh, and did I mention anythin' you're buying, you're payin' for?" and at that, the marines shouted "What!?" in disbelief, but they still entered the base in happiness, getting ready for their well deserved reward.

The Master Chief went back inside, and took a final glance at the empty and much-clearer battlefield, and headed towards the meeting area where Sergeant Johnson and Commander Keyes stood. "Hey Chief, where ya been? We were just gonna discuss that we should stay and enjoy the trip downtown, weren't we, Chief?" said Sergeant Johnson, who greeted the Chief with his welcome speech. The Master Chief slowly shook his head, and the Sergeant let out a small grunt.

"Come on, Commander. We all need our break once in a while! I mean, lookin' at you, you need some sort of break..." The Commander just rolled her eyes and said, "Here we go again..." and just stared at the Sergeant through his hour long speech. After an endless moment, the Commander's obvious reply was..."No," and she continued with a few reasons to support her point, ending with, "we have more important things to do than humor ourselves with a break. You, of all people, should know that". But she couldn't help feeling a tiny bit sorry for Johnson, after all they had all had a rough day in the war.

She gave a quick sigh and said, "Alright Johnson. As soon as this war is over, and if we survive through it, I'll let you have your reward. But now isn't the time" she finished. The Master Chief could tell that she was in no shape to argue with Sergeant Johnson, and as if he could read the Chief's mind, Johnson nodded with a grin on his face and said "I'm keepin' that in mind, Commander," and left. Commander Keyes then turned to the Master Chief who was waiting patiently, with all emotions hidden beneath his helmet. "So, what can I do for you, Chief?"

"Commander, with your permission, I need to know the location of our heading"

"Permission granted, Chief. The Cairo, of course. The Admiral gave me strict orders to return with what we've found. Anything else, Chief?". The Master Chief thought about the past events, if there was anything at all, and then he remembered. "Yes, Commander. I believe there is going to be an extra person on board". The Commander looked up, more interested in the present conversation. "And, Chief, just who may that be?"

End Chapter ten: One man can make all the difference

Listening to a certain song makes me feel sad for some reason. Probably thinking about making a Halo fanfic about it so I'll see if I can fit that into my schedule, but it's not very likely that it's going to end up a novel. But hey, you know the drill. Please review, and I'm hoping to post the next chapter soon.


	11. Betrayal

Alright guys, sorry to post this chapter up again, but I needed to fix a few things up. The whole conversation in that medical room and all has been changed, Commander Keyes was WAY too shocked, and she never gets speechless. There are a few more changes in this chapter as well, so don't stop at the first change you see. If you read this chapter before it was modified, then I suggest you look at the new changes. I had no idea what was going through my head when I posted the old version of this chapter...

If you were somehow wondering, just to make clear, the Master Chief does not know of Sleeper's existence, so don't get confused by anything. Everything that you don't recognize is mine. Anything that you do is the property of Bungie.

Chapter eleven: Betrayal

The Master Chief and Commander Keyes pushed through the marines who were prepared to leave for their promised reward. They both entered the medical bay to find dozens of marines placed in the beds located to the sides of the room, each faced opposite to each other. The Master Chief reached the end of the corridor, and looked inside the first room on his left, and entered the room, Commander Keyes following his move. The Master Chief saw his old companion sitting cross-legged on the bed, humming an unfamiliar tune. He didn't want to startle her, so he deliberately made his steps harder on the floor, to make her realize that she had company. Cortana's humming stopped and her eyes shot open, and looked at her guests.

"About time I have some company. I was getting bored," she said, in her usual tone of voice. "Commander Keyes, meet Cortana" said the Master Chief, gesturing to the female figure on the bed. Commander Keyes just looked at the woman, supposed to be Cortana, and shook her head in amusement. "Not that I don't believe any of this, it's just strange to see an AI trapped inside a human being that looks almost like their holographic image". Cortana had her usual smirk on and replied, "Ma'am, I understand the fact that it's hard to believe any of this, but it's true". "Cortana, I was informed by the Master Chief that you will be on board when we depart. Am I correct?" the Commander asked. "Correct" Cortana answered. After a few short seconds, Commander Keyes closed her eyes, and looked down in thought, only to bring her eyes back to Cortana, who was still waiting on a reply. "Well, I guess we'll have to make arrangements to bring another passenger on board".

The Master Chief looked at Cortana through his helmet. There was something about her that seemed out of place. Other than her appearance, something had changed about her, like she was hiding something. He shook it off and thought positively. This was Cortana he was thinking about. "Chief?" said a distant voice. He snapped out of his thoughts and turned to look at the Commander, who was sitting beside Cortana. "Chief, I need you to che--" Commander Keyes was cut in mid-sentence by the knocking on the door, which revealed Sergeant Thompson and Sergeant Johnson in the doorway. "Just thought you'd like the stats on our marines before we leave, Commander" said Sergeant Thompson. "Alright, Sergeant. Whats the news?" asked the Commander.

"We've got three hundred and eleven soldiers dead, fifteen affected by the nuclear bomb, and forty-two soldiers injured, nineteen of them with explicit injuries. That's as far as I know, Commander" and he glanced at his watch. "I guess I should leave now. It's almost time to take that trip downtown. Oh, and those elites are looking for you. Best not to keep them waiting" he finished, and departed and left the small group to themselves. Sergeant Johnson looked at the other three, quiet in the medical room. Wait a minute...three?

"Alright, which one of you decided to bring along a civilian to this base?" he questioned, looking between Commander Keyes and the Master Chief. It wasn't too hard to mistake Cortana for a civilian. Other than her dark, midnight eyes and her streaked hair, she looked fairly simple to the human eye, and to top it off she was wearing a normal black top and matching pants, which were supplied to her by the marines at the base. "Sergeant Johnson, this is Cortana. Don't worry, I'll explain on the way" said Commander Keyes, and she shoved the Sergeant out of the doorway, only to stop in mid-step. She turned and looked at the two figures in the room, and ordered, "Meet the both of us at the landing zone. Don't take too long," and with that, she left.

Cortana sighed, and looked at the Master Chief, who now sat next to her. "Don't we need to get going, Chief?" she asked, wondering why they were waiting. "Yeah, sure," the Master Chief responded, and she started to get up, only to have the Chief's gloved arm hold her shoulder gently. Cortana flinched at the sudden act of movement. "Is there something wrong?" she asked, her eyes soft. The Master Chief just fell silent for a few seconds, before finally admitting, "Cortana...It's good to have you back". Cortana just gave him a small smile, before answering "It's good to be back. Now come on, the Commander's waiting" she replied, before quickly moving out of the Chief's grasp, and through the doorway. _Something's up with her, _John thought to himself, but trusted her statement and followed her out.

John arrived with Cortana at the landing zone, with the elites waiting patiently beside their Phantoms. "Oh, finally. What took you guys so long?" asked Sergeant Johnson, upon seeing the arrival of the two humans. "Do not worry yourselves, we must leave now" said the Arbiter, breaking up the starting argument. The grav-lift on the Phantom activated and the four humans boarded the vessel, along with the remaining elites who stood outside. As the Phantom took off and headed for the main flagship, the _Undying Justice_, The Master Chief and Cortana were informed of the current plan, that the elites would only drop them off at the Cairo, and then they would depart for their own mission. By the time the explaining had finished, the Phantom had landed in the _Undying Justice_, and the Phantom emptied it's passengers. The Master Chief felt the flagship's floor rumble as the _Undying Justice_ started to move towards it's destination, the Cairo.

Most of the time was spent in the control room, wandering about and chatting every now and then. Cortana had a splitting headache, not only from the tiring battle, but from the pressure that was put on her from the fear of hiding a secret from her older friend. She knew that the Master Chief was trying to help her, to protect her like he had done in the past, but something about him made her feel a bit on edge. _Young one, how are you feeling?_ Sleeper said, breaking the calm silence in her head. _I'm fine, will you stop worrying. I've got enough things to deal with_ Cortana replied mentally, but only resulted in increasing her headache, and received a painful stab to her head. _Do not worry, young one. All of this will be over soon,_ Sleeper whispered. Cortana didn't answer, in risk of receiving another mental stab. Sleeper mentally finished off her sentence, making sure that Cortana wouldn't hear. _Sooner than you think._

The Arbiter stood in the shadowy area of the control room, talking to the white spec-ops commander, Half-Jaw. "Arbiter, the other Sangheili have been notified of our first heading. It is clear to them to what we must do. But, they are doubting that we will find enough warriors to fight the Parasite. It is not an easy task" said Half-Jaw, speaking in his own tongue in silent whispers. "Worry not, Commander. I have high hopes for my warriors; we will eliminate the Parasite, or die trying" replied the Arbiter, still speaking in whispers.

"And what of the female, Arbiter? You know she must be protected at all costs. The Jiralhanae will stop at nothing to get her back"

"I believe the Demon is capably well of protecting his friend. I know of their bond, hopefully it will last until the battle with the Jiralhanae. But, I must say that she is a curious one. It will be a challe---"

"Hey, you mind tellin' us what you're talkin' about?" interrupted Sergeant Johnson. The Arbiter and Half-Jaw turned to look at the intruder, and gave him a blank look. Commander Keyes stood behind Sergeant Johnson and gave the two elites an apologetic look. Half-Jaw was about to answer, when an announcement was made over the speakers. "Humans, we have reached the Cairo. Make your way to the landing bay, a Phantom is waiting for you". The Arbiter exchanged a glance with Half-Jaw, before escorting the four humans to the landing bay, where a Phantom was waiting for them as planned. "Humans, I will only stay with you until we reach the Cairo, then I must depart" said the Arbiter, and the Commander and Sergeant nodded, while they boarded the Phantom along with the Master Chief and Cortana.

At first, it was nothing but silence when the Phantom took off, until the Arbiter broke it. "Humans, I believe there is a chance that we may never cross paths again. I speak for all the Sangheili when I say this, it was an honor to be fighting beside you, enemies or not. But time moves quickly, you only have a short moment before you depart, so let us make this quick". Sergeant Johnson couldn't help getting his answers first before the Arbiter said anymore, so he asked his previous question again. "So, what the hell were you talkin' about back there anyway?" he asked. The Arbiter just shook his head like an older sister would when trying to explain something to a younger sibling. "Patience, Sergeant. It is something that you need not to know, at least not yet" replied the Arbiter, and paused for a moment, before saying, "The Sangheili and I have agreed to pass the opportunity to kill the brutes, against all our person wishes," and he said that looking at the Sergeant, remembering the time he had used that term not long ago, "and leave it to you," and he was silenced by the sound of the grav-lift activating beside them. "Go, humans. We will talk again when the time comes. But for now, you must wait until the moment arrives" he finished, while Sergeant Johnson, the Master Chief and Cortana dropped from the Phantom.

Commander Keyes looked at the grav-lift, before turning to the Arbiter and saying, "How will we find Kronos and his brutes? We don't even know where to look!" said Miranda to the Arbiter. The Arbiter stared at her, before replying, "You will find him when he wants to be found. He will come to you when he is ready". Miranda nodded her head once as a farewell, the Arbiter doing the same, and she left the Phantom without another word. Miranda landed on the ground to see the grav-lift of the Phantom disappear, and then move back towards the _Undying Justice_ without a sound.

Cortana found herself exiting the landing bay of the Cairo, accompanied by two other marines and the three other humans who had been with her. It was so strange to her. She was once the all-knowing Artificial Intelligence who occupied the Cairo's network system, and the guidance system who helped the Master Chief on his missions. Now, well, she didn't really know who she was, nor did she even think about it. All seemed lost to her. She could still feel the strange pressure of what she assumed was fear and guilt welling up inside her. _Sleeper? Are you there?_ Cortana asked, while still being led by the two marines. _I'm here, young one. What do you need?_

_I...need to know more about the Prophecy_

_What more do you need to know?_

_Well, it's just the whole idea with protecting this 'Chosen One'. I understand that only time will show me who or what it is, but what am I supposed to do in between? I can't go aski--_

_Of course you cannot go asking, young one. Our secret must be kept between the two of us, no one else should know. I will explain what you need to know later, for now, concentrate on the man standing in front of you, you day-dreaming fool!_

Day-dreaming fool? Cortana mentally made a confused look, but soon realized why Sleeper had said that because the Admiral was standing in front of everyone, and talking to her. "Cortana. Cortana can you hear me?". Cortana snapped out of her glare on the floor, and put her attention back on the Admiral. "Sorry sir. My mind just..." she said, but ended up trailing off silently with her words. She just couldn't bring herself up to insult herself with a silly excuse like 'Blanked out' or 'Brainwashed'.

The Master Chief observed the conversation behind the visor of his helmet. He knew Cortana more than anyone on the entire Cairo station, and he knew that she always had a reason behind everything. His mind wandered around, and a question formed in his head. Could it even be possible that a woman, who was actually an AI in physical form, become rampant at any second? He would have to ask someone with more knowledge on that subject, and snapped back to reality just in time to hear his orders. "Master Chief, I need you to be ready for anything by tomorrow. Those brutes can attack at any second, and I want an experienced fighter on the field" said the Admiral. "Understood, sir" replied the Master Chief, and the Admiral dismissed him.

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The Arbiter entered the _Undying Justice_'s control room, to find the rest of his warriors waiting patiently for his orders. Half-Jaw walked up to the Arbiter and said, "I assume that you did not inform the humans of our current plans". The Arbiter shook his head, saying "They have a right to know. If we were to fail, we could put their lives at risk, along with their kind. If that were to happen, it would not be anyones fault but ours". Half-Jaw understood the Arbiter's worry, and put a slender hand on his shoulder and leading him closer to the _Undying Justice's _controls. "Worry not, Arbiter. The humans will be aware of our plan sooner or later. But for now, we must focus on our task. What will be our first heading?" finished Half-Jaw.

The Arbiter sighed in acceptance, and ordered, "Set a course for Varkerei. It is time that we visit our brothers for assistance". The elites at the controls obliged, and the path was set to Varkerei, the training grounds for all Sangheili warriors. "Arbiter, what makes you think that the brutes have not discovered the location of Varkerei?" asked Half-Jaw. The Arbiter turned to the white spec-ops commander, and answered, "Because, if they had, the brutes would not of attacked the human's base. It would take more than a large assault on Varkerei before the Sangheili surrender to the brutes". Half-Jaw nodded in agreement, and was about to leave when a question popped up in the Arbiter's head.

"Commander, have you seen the Oracle since the battle?". Half-Jaw stopped in his tracks and turned his head to the Arbiter, and replied, "Actually, I have not. He should be somewhere around this vessel, otherwise he should be with the humans". The Arbiter left it at that, but thought to himself. _The Oracle did not leave with the humans, and I did not see him board this vessel, _but he shoved those thoughts for later. Now, he had more important tasks at hand, and stood behind the pilots at the controls. _I wonder where he could be..._

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The Oracle bobbed up and down merrily humming a tune through the think green fog, hovering through the passageways of High Charity. During the battle, he had slipped away without anyone noticing, hoping to fulfill his plan, which remained a mystery to both Human and Sangheili. As he glided lower and deeper into the heart of High Charity, a deep and rough voice entered his thoughts. _Welcome, Monitor. Your presence here enlightens us deeply. Has your task been completed?_ The Oracle looked around, trying to find the source of sound, but soon gave up and replied to the unseen source of sound. "Actually, it is delightfully fascinating to be greeted by your presence. Your first task has been completed, as planned". The deep voice filled his thoughts again, this time he felt a calming presence enter his mind. _You have proved yourself well, Monitor. Now, the brutes will have no choice but to join us with their lessened army, and then, we will be a raging force of undefeated warriors_

"Not that I don't agree with your plan, but how exactly are we going to convince the brutes to join us? The bug that I planted to wipe them out at the exact moment that human device went off wasn't exactly the best way to convince them to join us. In my opinion, the brutes would be absolutely furious!"

_Do not worry yourself, Monitor. All we need is the proper leverage to help us get what we want, and what they need that we want is simple._

"Oh, riddles are my specialty, are they not? I believe you should leave this task to me. I've already got it sorted out, the human will be in their hands very soon. Oh, I am a genius!" said the Monitor, as he left High Charity once more to complete his new task.

End chapter 11: Betrayal

So, how do you like the changes to this chapter? The first reason I changed this chapter for is because I didn't like the way it was structured, it seemed rushed to me and it didn't really make sense. Secondly, Chapter 12 was really hard for me to make because of the information in this chapter, so now that I've changed most of chapter 11, I had to delete most of chapter 12 which didn't really make sense anyway!

By the way Varkerei is also my own creation, it is not an unknown creation of Bungie yet to be announced. Stay tuned for the next chapter, and please review!

MizzStarlight


	12. Deadly Plans Unfold

Chapter 12...Chapter 12...I hate Chapter 12! Ok, I now have the trouble of writing up an excuse for taking this long on one chapter. No.1: I had to change the content in this chapter countless times...seriously. No.2: I had to make sure that I knew where I was going with this story(which now I do). No.3: I had no idea what to write for this chapter! Well, I hope my excuses were good enough to convince you that I haven't been slacking or somethingcough. If you really think I deserve a really cruel punishment, then I give you the right to flame me for this chapter, and ONLY this chapter...unless I say otherwise; hehe.

So, I was wondering if you preferred the new story title, or the old one better. I guess I changed the title because the later events in this story seemed to fit with it, so ya. This chapter contains another one of those strange memories, so if it doesn't make sense in any way, then I totally agree with you, but seriously, tell me if somethings wrong. Also, if you were wondering how 343 Guilty Spark got to High Charity, well I suggest you look at the legendary ending of Halo, I don't want to spoil anything for those who haven't seen it. And, for my final note, I have decided that the Cortana/Chief romance thing will be turned into more of a very strong friendship, whatever you would like to call it. My reason it because I just can't seem to fit a good romance between them in this story just yet, and it's better if I wait until next time because putting a romance in my first fanfic, especially when I'm no good at it, will turn this story from a Halo 3 story to a hopeless attempt at playing matchmaker. I do not own Halo, except for the characters you don't recognize. Hope this was worth the wait!

Chapter 12: Deadly Plans

_So, were you going to explain things to me or not? I kept my promise to keep you a secret, and now you need to hold your end of the bargain_

_I know, young one. And I always keep to my promises _

Cortana had finally been dismissed after going through a two hour long interrogation on her side of the story, starting from High Charity. Sleeper had to constantly remind her not to let her tongue slip, in case anything about the Prophecy that the Admiral wasn't meant to know, or anyone else for that matter, would come out. Where she sat now was cross-legged on the floor of the small room she was given to accommodate her until the next day.

_Sleeper, If you don't tell me--_

_Your persistence humors me, young one. Alright, but what I am about to tell you is true, this is not a fake fantasy in my eyes, it was the one mistake in which I learned from in my life as a living being, and it will cost you your life if you plan on ignoring my words. Are you sure you're ready for this?_

_Sleeper, I was made to be ready for anything, especially if it means our survival_

_Very well. My story begins..._

_Before I was shipped off to safety, the creators ran me through numerous tests to experiment with my abilities. As I completed each test, the obstacles I had to pass became more...difficult. And so, that is where my troubles began. One of my tests included my control over a few physical obstacles..._

_Well that seems easy..._

_Do not interrupt! It's not as easy as you think! As I was saying, I was tested on how I would react to the tests given to me by one of the lower Forerunner elders, who just happened to be the master at finding someones weak spot..._

_Memory-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_"Sleeper, I would like you to meet Elurion, one of the lower council's leaders" said a scientist, gesturing to the proud man clad in red robes. "He will be testing you on your control of your physical abilities. Elurion, she is now in your hands" finished the scientist, as he stepped back and prepared to take notes. "Sleeper, I need you to concentrate. Any reaction we get from you will be recorded down as a result of the test, so be on your best behavior" said Elurion, as he began his 'test'. "Sleeper, I need you to dodge any obstacle I throw at you. Do I make myself clear?". _

_Sleeper just nodded, and concentrated at her task. Elurion took out a weapon of some sort from his robes, and warned Sleeper, "If this hits you, I assure you, your skin will burn. Just a warning in case you think I am going easy on you". Elurion aimed the small weapon at the woman before him, and shot out a beam of red light, which Sleeper dodged. _

_After a few minutes of dodging, the red beam shot out it's final attack, and stopped. Sleeper landed on the floor gracefully, and stood there, unharmed. "Good work. These are sentinel beams, something the rest of the scientists and myself have been working on. They are a work in progress, but from our research, they should be able to stop the Failed Ones for a period of time" commented Elurion._

"_Now, Sleeper, I need to test your abilities in fighting. I want you to come at me, with all you have got. I promise I will be a challenge to you, only if try to beat me"._

_Sleeper had no idea what to do. She knew how to fight and all, but how was she meant to start it? She decided to stay there, watching Elurion as he took a fighting stance a few meters away from her. Now, the only noise that could be heard was the scribbling of a pencil on paper, coming from the scientist. _

_As this went on for a while, Sleeper started to get nervous, and she chanced a glance at the scientist; Elurion took his chance to attack. He quickly ran forward, jumped, and attacked the startled woman. Sleeper quickly recovered, though, and brought up her arms in front of her to block the Elder's punch, and started attacking him._

_Sleeper knew her mistake. She looked away; that's what Elurion had wanted her to do, and he had taken his chance to attack. That was why he had the upper advantage so far. But, as she had heard the saying many times, you can learn from your mistakes. Her arms were starting to get sore from all the punches and kicks from Elurion. _

_"Come on, Sleeper. I know you can do much more than that" he said, while he continued his attacks. This only seemed to provoke Sleeper even more, and started her own counter-attacks. When he brought his arm out for a punch, Sleeper, had caught it, and then gave the elder a jab in his ribs. Though he seemed unaffected, he did step back and start dodging and blocking the attacks Sleeper offered him. But, even though while the fun in almost beating an Elder lasted, one of her attacks allowed him a good chance at a kick to her stomach, which he landed perfectly. _

_Sleeper's hands automatically went down to her stomach, and the elder took his chance to launch his finishing attacks. But that didn't stop the in-pain woman from trying to fight back._

_The duel between herself and Elurion was coming to a close, as Sleeper's blocks were being slowed by the pain in her arms, and the pain in her stomach. As she lashed out her slow and weak final attack at Elurion, as an attempt to hit him by chance, he grabbed her wrist and swung her around, only to quickly take what looked like some sort of syringe out of the inside of his robes, and stuck it into the delicate skin of the struggling woman in his arms, forcing the liquid into her bloodstream. _

_As Sleeper felt herself slowly lose consciousness, she heard Elurion whisper quietly behind her, saying "Your weak attacks do not affect me, girl. You cannot face the Failed Ones at this rate...you are weak minded, Sleeper, but with my help, I will make you strong..."_

_End Memory-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_And that ends my story. Any questions?_

_Actually, yeah. How was that supposed to answer my question? It was completely off topic!_

_That is where you are wrong, young one. By telling you my story, I have taught you a lesson in which you must follow if you want to survive long enough to find the Chosen One_

_What lesson? The fact that I'm trapped in a body too weak to protect itself, let alone find this 'Chosen One'?_

_Cortana, you were chosen to be--_

_Chosen or not, you forced this on me, and now I have to pay the price for your mistake_ Cortana stated, mentally pointing a finger at the mental image of Sleeper. A minute passed by and everything was silent, until Sleeper decided to talk again. _So what are you going to do now, young one?_ Cortana thought for a second or two, before replying, _I've got a plan, but I need to tell the Chief about this, he's the only one that would understand--_

_Your plan is too risky, young one. No matter how much he might understand, you cannot tell him! Do you realize the danger you could put us in if we're exposed to--_ and Sleeper stopped. She knew that there was no point in arguing with her host because in all arguments, which turned from persuasion to a mental battle, Cortana always won. So, keeping that in mind, she approached Cortana on a different angle. _Alright, Cortana. Have it your way. You can tell your 'Chief' anything you like about me, your plan and the Prophecy, but if I find out that he has gone and told anyone else and it becomes a serious issue among the rest of the people on this station, I swear on the blood of the Forerunners that I will make all your past friends turn against you and torture you for the rest of eternity...which is nothing compared to what I will do to you! _Sleeper finished, and mentally let out a small 'hmmph', proud of what she had just said. _Thanks Sleeper, but a simple yes would of convinced me too. Don't worry, I know exactly how to turn the tables on my side_

_I do not like where this might be going, young one. But I trust you enough that I will not try and stop you_

_I knew that I'd rub off on you sooner or later..._

Sleeper didn't respond. Cortana started to get up when she was hit with a wave of dizziness, and she fell down hard on the cold floor, unable to get up again. "On second thought, maybe I'll tell him tomorrow..."

Cortana slowly opened her eyes and found herself lying down on the dark floor of the room she was in. She looked at the clock which hung on the wall to her right. It was only 1:37am, she hadn't even slept for three hours! _Cortana, wake up now._ Cortana ignored Sleeper's order, despite how urgent she sounded, and moved back into her original position, preparing to fall asleep for the rest of the night. _Cortana, wake up now!_ Cortana got up as a result of the screaming voice in her head, and sleepily said "Alright, I'm getting up!". As she finally stood and balanced herself on both her feet, two hands grasped her mouth shut while a blindfold was put over her eyes and her hands and feet were bound together. She tried to struggle and kicked blindly in front of her, but it was no use. She felt a rough and furry hand on her back as her unknown captors lifted her off the ground, and before a misty golden glow entered the darkness of her mind, she heard a very familiar bubbly voice say "There is no use in struggling, construct. You will be delivered back safely, as planned".

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The Arbiter watched the main view screen on the _Undying Justice's _control room. The small planet which they called Varkerei was getting closer as the flagship moved towards it. The Arbiter took his eyes off the screen to see Half-Jaw trying to connect with Varkerei's communication systems, but was unsuccessful. The only thing he managed to accomplish was meddle with the communication system, only to receive a fair amount of static running through their speakers. The Arbiter glanced back to the main screen, to find a few large rocks orbiting around the planet. One rock movement caught his eye, and he saw a rock flying towards Varkerei with a clear path. The rock twisted and turned rapidly as it got closer to Varkerei's atmosphere, and as it seemed that the strong solid was going to collide with the planet, the rock exploded against the invisible barrier protecting the planet, and the small rock pieces that remained from the explosion rebounded off the barrier and flew straight towards the _Undying Justice_. There was a loud clattering noise as some of the rocks landed a perfect hit on the flagship, while the rest went straight past it. "Stop this vessel immediately! We cannot move any further with that barrier in our way!" ordered Half-Jaw.

'So, it seems that my brothers have successfully put up the shield protecting Varkerei. The last time I was here, the shield was still under construction. I wonder what else may have changed over the many years I have left my home' thought the Arbiter. The _Undying Justice _came to a halt quickly, while still in the midst of a few rocks orbiting around and dodging the vessel every once in a while, as if they had a mind of their own. "Commander, we must establish a proper communication with Varkerei before we move any further. It is the only way we will be able to pass through the barrier" said one of the pilots at the controls. "It seems that we are experiencing difficulty with the communications at the present time. The closer we get to Varkerei, the more interferences we receive" said another elite working at the communications controls. Without warning, the _Undying Justice's _engines flared to life, and started drifting towards the protected planet. Half-Jaw watched as one of the blank view screens turned on to reveal two elite honor guards which seemed to be standing guard at a door, and one proud black spec-ops elite standing in the front of the screen. "You are brave to venture this far into the beyond and survive. Only a trained Sangheili warrior knows the path to this world. Who is it that has trespassed the borders of Varkerei?" asked the black spec-ops elite. Half-Jaw exchanged glances with the Arbiter, whispering to him "We cannot reveal our identities. For all we know the Sangheili on Varkerei could still be loyal to the Covenant, to the Prophets who ordered our slaughter"

"But if we do not respond, this vessel will continue to drift into the barrier, killing us all" rebutted the Arbiter. The Commander nodded his head slowly in understanding, and responded to the waiting elite. "I am Commander RtasVadumee of the _Undying Justice, _the Arbiter and the rest of my Sangheili are with me. I believe there is grave news that I must inform you of, and a request that is better discussed at a better time and location than this one".

"An Arbiter? My, I believe I have not encountered such a warrior in many years. Lower the shield!" he ordered to the elites who were in charge of the controls on his side, clearly not visible on the view screen. "Bring your vessel in quickly. We will not hold down the shield for very long" finished the black spec-ops elite, and the comm link shut down once more. The _Undying Justice _quickly built up speed and broke through Varkerei's round form and entered the planet. The Arbiter felt the small ripple of the barrier as it was put up again around the planet. A funny feeling entered him, something that felt right, but he just guessed that it was the feeling of visiting his home since birth. But he still couldn't shake off the thought that somewhere else in the known universe, a dark and evil plan could have been brewing right under their very noses.

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"Monitor, you have returned. Have you completed your second task?" The mysterious character said, as a familiar glowing blue orb floated it's way towards the Prophet's private quarters, which was now covered in a think green fog.

"Of course, Creator. Why would I return if I hadn't? The experiment has been successfully transferred to the brute colony, as planned" 343 Guilty Spark replied.

"Good work, soon our plan will be in order. There is just one final task to complete, if things turn for the worst"

"Don't worry, Creator. I'll be off as soon as you--"

"No, Monitor. This task is far beyond your abilities. I will attend to this matter on my own. But, I can sense your need for knowledge, curiosity, I hope this might satisfy it..." and a rough image of what seemed to be a human made accessory appeared, hovering above the terminal. "My, I do believe I have seen that strange ornament on the human female, on rare occasions of course. What is it that you possibly need from this--" 343 Guilty Spark suddenly stopped as he looked closer at the small blood-red gem placed in the middle of the heart-shaped locket. "Now you see why I must do this alone, Monitor. If, by the end of the week, I am not able to grasp it using my minion," said the voice in a dangerously mischievous tone, "I will take it from her by force"...

End chapter 12: Deadly Plans

I'm not sure what you might want to call this chapter, since it's got no real action in it, but it would probably be a filler chapter or something. Then again all three scenes will lead onto something new in the story. Don't worry, things will get a bit more interesting from here on because I have FINALLY decided that most of the story's plot will be revealed to you in the next few chapters...kind of...and then you just might guess where I could be headed in this story. But then again, if your guess is wrong, I might just humiliate you for the rest of your life and all that kinda stuff snickers...Guys, I'm joking, you know I LOVE your ideas as much as I love ice-cream, and trust me, thats A LOT of love. As you can also see, I'm trying to put more parts into Miranda cause the only female that normally gets attention in Halo is Cortana, so I decided that having Miranda as the next-in-line female that gets the attention. Don't worry, Miranda plays a fair part in the upcoming chapters.

Also, I promise there won't be much memories for the rest of the story...apparently the memory is the reason why this chapter took so long to post. There will be a few flashbacks here and there, but not in the way that it will interrupt the story's update. So...I've decided to let you in on a little hint that might help you figure who this mysterious "guy" is. I'm going to make things clear, that this person is NOT Gravemind who is referred to 'Creator' by Sparky!! Just wanted to point it out so I don't get any private threats saying stuff like, "If it is 'Gravemind the Creator' (or a random nickname you come up with), I swear I'm gonna hunt you down and break your hands and watch you write the entire chapter in complete and mind-numbing pain!" or something. I mean, come on guys! I wouldn't do that to you...would I? If some people were wondering on the 'Chosen One', I'm going to give you the hint that I've mentioned him a few times, and he will play a fair role in the sequel and the plot of this story. Speaking of sequel, if I ever do get to the sequel of this story, you will know the reason why I put in a blood-red gem in the locket, so you probably won't find out until you read that later on.

And now, as most people have seen me say, please review because I absolutely love to hear your thoughts on the chapters; I'll give you a cookie if you do P P Oh, and thanks **soooooooooo** much to the people who have reviewed so far; you guys are the best! You deserve **two** cookies! Next chapter probably will take a while to post. Probably not as long as long as this one took, but who knows! But until then, please stay with me!

MizzStarlight


	13. Jealous?

Alright, another filler chapter. This one also contains three different stories, but the first two are joined up, in a way. The first two is like the starter-off for the human/covenant war and stuff like that. And the second is more of introducing two new characters(which you will find out when you read this chapter) and starting off the war with the Flood on High Charity, in a way. I **promise **that there will be action in the next chapter, cause now it's unfair to you guys that I'm this far in the story and not much action has been going on, so I do apologize for that. Also, a note to anyone who even bothers to read authors notes, I have put a little twist in the story, which you won't figure out until later. Just saying this so you are prepared when this little 'twist' occurs, but anyways, on to the most loved reviewers!

To Alpha Prime: It's really strange how you saw Guilty Spark in all the difficulties. I honestly don't know what to say, but there might have been some kind of glitch on my Halo game or something, cause he didn't show up at all in any of the difficulties. When I saw Sparky in Halo 2, I'm like "How the heck did he end up there?" so I went and saw the ending on Youtube, since I couldn't be bothered to play The Maw again, and then BAM, he's there. I guess I've just got a messed up Halo game or something. Sorry for the confusion! Also, I am thankful that you mentioned that you have an idea of who the 'Chosen One' is, because I didn't want to make 'it' too hard to guess, or maybe too easy. And yes, I put the 'it' there so that people don't recognize if it's a she or a he(Though it's kind of obvious which gender it is). Thanks for your review!

To thecobb8: Heh, sorry about the memory. I was just in a hurry to get it up after the long wait that I didn't really bother to look at the paragraphing! Sorry about that! Thanks for your review!

I do not own Halo, except for the characters you don't recognize such as Sleeper, Tarthuras, Kronos and such.

Oh, and as a reminder in the conversations between Sleeper and Cortana, the _Italics_ are Sleeper and the _Italics with underline_ is Cortana.

Chapter 13: Jealous?

The Master Chief glanced around the Bridge of the Cairo. Commander Keyes, Sergeant Johnson, Admiral Hood and other important officials were gathered around the room.

_Flashback--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_John woke up after three hours of sleep. He hadn't managed to talk to Cortana yet, nor did he figure out what seemed to be wrong with her, which ticked him off. A knock on the door snapped him out of his thoughts. "Enter" he mumbled, as a marine came through the door. He had bags under his eyes, obviously from the fact that he had been working too hard. "Sir! Sorry to interrupt, but the Admiral requests your presence at the Bridge immediately, sir!" said the marine with pride. _

_John just grunted in response and made his way out the door, where the marine was still standing. The marine saluted as he stopped in front of him. "Marine, take a break after your duties are done" he said flatly, feeling the marine's discomfort turn into shock as he made his way to the Bridge. "Sir? Thanks, Sir!" shouted the marine, as he went down his own path. 'Must be a new recruit' thought the Chief, as he entered the door to the Bridge._

_End Flashback--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

And so, that was how he ended up in this situation. Everyone stopped talking as Admiral Hood stood up and waited for silence to dawn upon them, and only then did he start talking. "I deeply apologize for this, but I believe I should make this quick. You were all brought here because during the past few hours, it is believed that a member of the Cairo has been kidnapped". A few murmurs ran through the crowd, but they quickly disappeared as the Admiral started talking again.

"I have already spoke to Commander Keyes about this, and we have concluded that it could be a sign that the Covenant are preparing to attack again. But this time, the ex-Covenant won't be there to help us. I have been informed that they won't be seen again for a period of time due to their own mission, therefore, this time we will be on our own. And again, I do apologize for the early disturbances. Meet me here again at exactly 1100 hours to discuss battle stations. We can't lose against the covenant no matter what. Dismissed."

And with that, everyone left the room except for Commander Keyes, Sergeant Johnson, the Admiral and himself. John still needed answers. 'Who would the Covenant kidnap at this time of night?' he thought. And then it clicked, but he refused to believe it without any evidence. He approached the Admiral, Commander and Sergeant who were lost in their thought. "Ah, Master Chief. What can I do for you?" asked the Admiral as he lifted his head to see the approaching figure.

Miranda and Johnson also spun around to meet the visor of the Chief's helmet, but immediately bowed their heads as they were reminded of what had happened. "Sir...is it true?" the Chief asked. The Admiral stared into the Chief's visor, and then he too dropped his gaze, and nodded. "Master Chief, I wish there was some other way, but yes. Cortana has been kidnapped and believed to be held hostage somewhere in the Covenant's fleet".

_Meanwhile--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_I do not believe that this is happening...this is not happening_

_You know, talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity..._

_Foolish girl! I am you! And do not dare speak to me about insanity!_

_Well, someone's angry..._

God knows how long she and Sleeper had been arguing. True, it was Sleeper who had firstly told her that she was to become a weapon to whichever side claimed her first. But since Cortana had told her how the Covenant had evolved over time, and the fact that the elites, grunts and hunters were split from the brutes, Prophets and jackals, Sleeper had changed her mind.

_Those stupid incompetent fools! This was not how the Covenant was meant to turn out!_

_Tell that to them, not me..._

Even though her importance to the Covenant was great, they had still locked her up in a high-security cell which unfortunately, she could not hack through. The two brutes known as Kronos and Tarthuras came to a stop at her cell and unlocked it from the outside. "What do you want?" Cortana finally snapped. She knew they wouldn't harm her anyway, and plus, she had Sleeper on her side. Kronos spoke up. "Holy One, I know you must be frustrated right now, but know that this is only for your safety..."

"Yeah right..." Cortana mumbled, as the brute continued his so called 'convincing talk'.

"We must declare war on those who opposed you, Holy One. We will finish them once and for all. Worry not, the vermin will fall--"

Cortana had tuned him out a while ago, and instead relied on Sleeper to occupy her instead.

_Sleeper...you never told me who this 'Elurion' guy was. I know he was this elder of some sort, but you never mentioned what happened after that so called 'test' of yours_

_Hmm...Alright. I guess you have the right to know. Well, how to begin? Hmm...The only thing I can really say is that he became my teacher, in a way..._

_And then..._

_And then...well it sort of went all over the place from there on. We started seeing each other more often...and we sort of went from teacher and student, to friends, then best friends. We were inseparable. And then, that was when the...accident happened_

_Don't tell me you--_

_No! I would never do something as shameful as that. Now, back to where I was. Hear me out when I say this; I only wanted to stay on the level of friendship when it came to Elurion and I. But something told me that he wanted more. And that was when he told me he wanted to use me for an experiment of his own. The small sparkle I had seen in his eyes was that of pure evil, not the Elurion I once knew. _

_He asked me to run away with him, start a better life with him, forget the Flood and the Forerunners. But I was not foolish enough to believe him. I knew the rule that the High Council had put in place, rule number two from the top of the list, clearly stating that "No intimate relationships are to be held with any of the experiments. Any hint of a relationship will be dealt with, and the pair will face the consequences"._

Cortana heard Sleeper let out a sigh, clearly that of hesitation, but kept going with her explanation.

_I was scared; I didn't know what to do. So the first thing that came into my mind was request a meeting with the High Council, and they freely accepted me into their circle to talk about my problem. I remember the exact words I told them..._

_Flashback--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

"_Dear Sleeper, what troubles you to the extent that you have come to us for aid?" asked one of the Council's members. "I did not know what to do in this case, so the first thing that came to my mind was talk to you, High Council. I...Have not been truthful in the past few weeks. I am scared." replied Sleeper, gaining curious looks from the Council. She continued._

"_You all know that the elder Elurion and I have been teacher and student for a while now, and during the couple of weeks together...we have grown much closer"._

_The Council let out a few gasps and said "Sleeper, you know the consequences--"_

"_Please let me finish, High One! It is not what it seems. A mere two days ago, Elurion asked me to run away with him and forget all this! It was a relationship that I knew I could not have, so I threw it away, I swear it! I did not want to face punishment for actions I did not commit, so that is why I ask for your help, High Council. Please allow me mercy for what I pushed him into! I should have known better..."_

_End Flashback--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_So, what happened to him?_

_He was punished for his actions, and I was allowed mercy. But I did not get off that easily. I had many Forerunners watching my every move, my every action. I still think that i deserved more. As for Elurion...he...he..._

Sleeper seemed to be caught in the moment, and trailed off with her words. Cortana remained silent, and waited for Sleeper to return to reality.

_He was banished from the Forerunners, exiled into the unknown!_ _I do not know much from what happened from there on, but there are rumors that he started a new colony, a new rebellion. The Dark Rebellion, I think he called it, or so we have heard. I have not seen him since that day._

Silence dawned upon them once more, and Cortana asked _Did you love him?_ Sleeper made a small whimpering noise, and Cortana took that as a yes. When Cortana noticed her surroundings again, she found that the two brutes were gone. She sighed out loud. It was going to be a long time before she was free...if she ever got free.

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Kronos was standing before an audience of brute warlords and such. Tarthuras was there at his right side. "Today, my warriors, is a time where the Forerunners are watching our every move, when each failure will be punished! Today, is the day we hold the final march against the vile humans! Today, is the day when we, the Jiralhanae, take over what should have been ours long ago! We will not lose this war!"

The brute warlords cheered and roared in approval as Kronos finished his speech. The lone brute flagship's engines burst to life and slowly made it's way to the human base; Cairo station. A bright light tore a whole through space, and out came hundreds of brute controlled flagships to join the lone one in which Kronos, Tarthuras, the brute warlords, and the Holy One, a.k.a, Cortana were on. Each ship glided across the deep black of space and made their way to launch the attack on the Cairo; hoping to end the human civilization once and for all. Kronos turned to Tarthuras and whispered to him, "Get the Holy One prepared for the experiment. This needs to be done before the battle starts, or we might never have a chance of winning against those disgusting vermin".

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The Arbiter and his warriors sat around the Sangheili built room. They had landed on the hard ground on one of Varkerei's defense stations, and were met and escorted by some of the elites that were stationed to wait for their arrival. They had ended up in one of the many meeting rooms in the long corridors of the base, and were awaiting the arrival of the black spec-ops elite. A soft noise was heard as the doors hissed opened to reveal three zealots guarding a black spec-ops elite, followed by two honor guards. 'He must be someone of importance to be guarded with such Sangheili warriors' thought the Arbiter. The black spec-ops elite sat down at the head of the table and glanced at the Arbiter and the rest of the elites. "So, it is true, then. A new Arbiter has been chosen to succeed the others" the elite said.

"Did you not trust us when we said there was an Arbiter on board?" asked Half-Jaw, the white spec-ops commander.

"It is not that I did not trust you, brothers. We were afraid that your warriors and the Arbiter were still under the Prophet's control"

"So, you are not loyal to the Prophets, are you not?" the Arbiter joined the conversation.

"No, of course not. After the numerous attacks from the Jiralhanae under the Prophet's order, we have been lead to believe that the Prophets did not want us in the Covenant any longer, so we willingly abandoned them. After the Sangheili that had managed to get off High Charity alive arrived at our base, the attacks from the Covenant stopped immediately. Of course, Varkerei has seen better days..." finished the black spec-ops elite.

"Brother, I believe none of us know your name. What is it that we may call you?" asked a scarlet elite at the table.

"Of course, where are my manners? I am Master ZukaRaszumee, leader of Varkerei's battle fleet and defense platforms. How may I be of service?"

The Arbiter, Half-Jaw and the elites who had received that information sat still with loose mandibles, not believing what they have heard. "But...long ago we were told that the Raszumee line had been killed in battle" stated one of the elites.

ZukaRaszumee just shook his head, saying "Not all had been killed. My younger sister Llaena and myself were the only survivors. Llaena is currently on the other half of Varkerei, where most of the normal civilization is. After she found out that I had been the only other survivor of her family, she immediately told me that she wanted nothing to do with war and death. But as you know, our family line is known to have natural born warriors, so as the leading male in the family, I took up the opportunity to lead this half of Varkerei. Now, enough about my past. You mentioned earlier to me that you had something to discuss, along with a favor".

Half-Jaw spoke up. "Well, since it has been cleared that you are not under the Prophet's orders, then we can move on with this. A few weeks ago, my brothers and I had decided that maybe a new alliance was in order. And, believe it or not, we had come to an agreement to team up with the Humans. We have spoken to their superior; they will not harm us unless we mean to attack them. You must understand, brother, that these are times when change is in order, otherwise we can never get revenge on the Jiralhanae or the Parasite" the white spec-ops commander finished, waiting for the black armored elite's response.

"What you say is interesting, Commander. It is true that we are in need of aid, and I will take it into consideration that you traveled with our past enemies, who gave you shelter and let you out alive and undamaged. I will accept the new Alliance for now," and he turned to one of the zealots that accompanied him through the door and whispered to him "Go and spread the news of this Alliance. If for any reason the humans must seek shelter from us, the Sangheili must be prepared to welcome them".

"Understood" replied the zealot, as he turned away and left the room.

"Now, brothers. What is this request of yours?" asked ZukaRaszumee.

Half-Jaw exchanged glances with the Arbiter, and nodded. The Arbiter spoke. "My warriors and I are in need of your aid, Brother. The Parasite is growing in both numbers and strength, and we believe that it is our duty to eliminate them once and for all. Our allies, the humans, are keeping the Jiralhanae, Kig-Yar and Yanme'e busy for the time, so they cannot be of assistance in this battle. That is why we ask you to lend us your warriors to take out the Parasite on High Charity, and destroy the infected city once and for all! If we succeed, then there will be one less threat to take care of when we help our allies eliminate the rest of the Covenant"

"Interesting. I suppose I could lend you some of my Sangheili for your mission. My warriors ache with the lack of fighting around here. But unfortunately, I cannot accompany you on your mission, but I will contact you once in a while on your flight. To make up for my position, I will send some Unggoy and Lekgolo. The Unggoy have been slacking off from their duties, knowing that there will not be any enemies to kill. The Lekgolo have been getting restless and a lot of the practice targets have been burnt due to the random plasma fire of their cannons. Both species need the fight" finished ZukaRaszumee, as he told his guests to eat and rest, for the coming day was the day when they set out to eliminate the Flood.

_Time-skip to next day because I'm too lazy to write anything---------------------------------------------_

The Arbiter, Half-Jaw, the elites under their command and the extra elites, hunters and grunts which were now under their control were waiting for ZukaRaszumee to bid them farewell at the landing zone. The _Undying Justice _was still positioned in the same spot it had been when it first landed, except it was now in the air with the gravity lift awaiting them to board. "Ah, my brothers. I do apologize for being late. It seemed as though someone was eager to meet all of you, so I better make this quick" said ZukaRaszumee, as he stepped into view of the other elites. "Brothers, I would like you to meet my younger sister, Llaena. I suppose I had talked her into meeting you fine Sangheili, and well, she decided to come along..."

An elite stepped out from behind ZukaRaszumee. She was a little bit shorter than him, and had a paler skin color to that of a male elite. Her eyes were also softer and had a cheerful glint to them. She wore a sleeveless red velvety-like gown which fitted her figure perfectly. The top half of her gown was simple V-neck that came down to just below the shoulders. The hem of her dress was also laced with a royal gold. She strode up to the gazing elites and passed each one of them, saying in her authoritative but gentle voice, "So, these are the warriors that you spoke of, brother. They will do fine in their mission to stop this Parasite. I just truly hope they do not go to waste..."

She stopped in front of the Arbiter, and held out her hand. And, as traditional customs in the Sangheili law, the Arbiter took her slender hand and brought it to hover over his collarbone. "Mistress Llaena," and bowing his head, she doing the same. "Sister, they must leave now. When they return I am sure that they will introduce themselves to you" ZukaRaszumee said, as she stepped back to her brother's side and bid them farewell along with the other watching elites of Varkerei, and the elites boarded the vessel. The _Undying Justice_ took off and exited Varkerei's round form, and sped their way to High Charity.

_On board the Undying Justice------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

"My, I have not seen such a fine female specimen in a long time" said a random elite.

"Agreed. I must say I cannot wait until we see Mistress Llaena again" said another elite.

The elite watching over the view screens growled in frustration, saying "Why is it that the Arbiter always gets the attention. Do we not deserve some sort of female company for our efforts in war?"

"Speaking of the Arbiter..." said the white spec-ops Commander, Half-Jaw. "Arbiter! It seems that some of our fellow Sangheili are curious to know how you manage to attract such fine females these days". The Arbiter just gave a facial expression similar to a human smirk. "That is a secret" he said, as he turned away from the groaning-in-frustration elites. "Damn it, Arbiter! You always seem to be the lucky one these days!"

"What is wrong, Commander? Are you jealous?" finished the Arbiter.

The non-stop arguments continued until they came within eye range of High Charity. They gaped in disgust at what they saw.

End Chapter 13: Jealous?

I must say, this one was really fun to write. Sure, it's unlucky 13, but hey! I'm turning 13 this week! (Does victory dance) I've also decided to put in some humor in this story, you know, kind of loosen up from the boring paragraphs, so I'm hoping for a few reviews on this chapter, so pweeeeeease don't make me unhappy! I'll give you some ice-cream cake if you review(smiles). Also, I couldn't help but add a female elite in the story, and I had to be a little creative with making her different from the male elites. I mean, come on guys! No one really knows how a female elite looks like, so please give me a break! Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you in the next chapter!

MizzStarlight


	14. Uninvited Guests

Sorry for the delay guys, I had some MAJOR writer's block; I've been stuck for ages, not to mention school work and stressful assignments. Just a warning, there will be a gruesome scene, meaning violent, blood and gore, stuff like that. You can skip the scene if you feel uncomfortable, there will be no warning though. I thank the people who have reviewed so far, you guys rock!

As I have said for all the previous chapters, Halo is the property of Bungie, the only things I own is the plot and the unrecognizable characters. Enjoy!

Chapter 14: Uninvited Guests

_Recap: The non-stop arguments continued until they came within eye range of High Charity. They gaped in disgust at what they saw._

_----------------------------------------------------_------------------------------------------------------------------------

High Charity had lost it's bright purple hue over time, and had been covered with a disgusting slimy green color. A dark, thick and creamy marshy fog covered the open spaces of what used to be High Charity, and the towers of the holy city had been overrun by large greenish-brownish blobs which pumped every few seconds. "Arbiter, are you there? What is going on?" asked a voice over the speakers; ZukaRaszumee.

"Yes, General. I believe things are not looking too good. The Holy City has been deformed into what seems to be a large station for the Parasite. I'm afraid there is no way to get the Holy City back to what it was" said the Arbiter, still keeping his eyes to the screen. "Alright, Arbiter. You know what to do. The Sangheili at Varkerei wish your safe return. I too wish you the deepest luck...but I do not expect you to return from the belly of the beast. Take care of yourselves, brothers", and the communication shut off.

The Arbiter turned to Half-Jaw who nodded, and spoke so that every elite would hear him. "Brothers, it is time. Our main mission is to plunge deep into the structure of High Charity, and slay any Parasite that comes our way. We must find the heart of the Parasite and slay the beast. Only then may we hope that the creatures will too fall into the dark abyss from which they came from. For our families, our sons and daughters, for Varkerei and the Alliance!" Half-jaw said, as the rest of the ex-Covenant gave a final battle cry and boarded a Phantom.

_----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

"What happened here...?" whispered a scarlet elite. It was worse than they thought. The hard and solid ground of what used to be High Charity had turned to a soft sponge-like surface that blended in with the infected walls. Every time a step was taken, the soft ground made a small squishy noise, as if you were walking in a soaked muddy field, which could easily give away their position. What was worse was that there was a visible-if-you-looked-hard-enough trail from the elite's steps to the direction they were headed in; this certainly wasn't going their way.

There were originally fifty Elites, ten Hunters and twenty-five grunts altogether. Now, they were all evenly split up into five groups of ten, with ten Elites, two Hunters and five Grunts in each group. The Arbiter's group and Half-Jaw's group were trying to make as little noise as possible; the soft ground wasn't helping at all. The other three groups had gone in separate directions, while the remaining two decided to check out both the heart of High Charity, which was the main control room, and lastly around the Prophet's private quarters.

The two groups stopped when the lift to the Prophet's private quarters was in view. "Arbiter, this is where I leave you and the rest your warriors. I wish you luck, Arbiter. May the Forerunners watch over you" the white spec-ops Commander said, as he started walking away to the lift. "Good luck, brother" the Arbiter replied as the lift started to rise and was soon out of their view.

The Arbiter and his group looked ahead. From where they were standing, the corridor looked never ending. At the moment, they were illuminated in light with a slight green fog, but as the corridor got deeper, it seemed to get darker and darker until it was pitch black, and the fog got thicker and greener with each step. Not to mention the terrible stench of the Flood surrounding them. T

he Arbiter took the lead down the corridor, followed by the rest of the elites. Only when he was deep within the corridor, did he look back at the spot where he had been standing just moments ago. It was just a small foggy patch of illuminated ground in the distance. Though it was only moments, it seemed like years when they had stood in the light when they had left the other group.

_----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

A gold zealot led his group down a narrow pathway. So far, there was no word from the other four groups, but since they had no form of communication devices, they didn't expect to have much talk anyway. "This silence is plaguing my thoughts, and the stench is growing worse by the second. How much longer will it take to find this damn monstrosity!" broke out one of the elites, frustrated with their little findings.

In fact, the whole group was starting to feel a bit edgy, not only because of the stench and silence, but also because of the dangling Flood tentacles from the black ceiling and the think walls which seemed to be closing in on them by the second. "Worry not, brothers. We will soon be--" the golden zealot was cut off by a gurgled scream coming from the back of the group, and the piercing cry from the Flood, which sounded much like a Banshee's wailing.

But the strange thing about the scene was that when the group looked behind them, there was no Flood, and no dead body. "Leader...Leader!" cried a grunt. "Me no find Protectors! Protectors gone!". The golden zealot looked to the back of the group, and found that the little grunt was right; the Hunters were gone.

"Let us move quickly! Who knows how long it will be before the Parasite strikes again". The golden elite announced, and they started moving again. A slick noise interrupted their thoughts, as the tentacles which clutched onto the ceiling starts growing longer and longer, steadily moving it's way towards the group. They had no time to run because the walls had grown and attached their ends to the other, making a sloppy square surrounding them and blocking off both ends of the corridor, trapping them.

It was useless. There was no way to escape as some of the tentacles found the head of one elite, and grabbed around the long neck of the struggling warrior, and pulled him up, leaving him to hang in the air. The dangling elite took out his energy sword and started slashing at the tentacles above his head, but also being careful not to behead himself.

But as one tentacle was cut off, many more replaced it, and soon enough there were numerous tentacles attached to his neck, body, arms and legs, making him unable to move a muscle. His yelling teammates were only able to watch him get tortured because he was too high up for them to jump and reach, and using any plasma weapon was too dangerous because their comrade would burn if they were to miss and hit him instead.

A screech of metal on metal made everything stop, as a thick tentacle wielding a two meter long, thin sharp blade came into view of the trapped elite. The elite could only stare, as the blade was plunged into his chest, and the tentacles that had latched onto his body wrapped even tighter at his joints, and broke the bones surrounding that area.

The torture for the elite wasn't over, as the blade pulled out of the elite's chest, only to start cutting at random places on his body, leaving large gashes in the elite's stomach, arms, legs, back and neck. The elite was now in complete pain, as blood dripped down his body and onto the ground. His screams could wake up every bit of High Charity if everyone was asleep, and if everyone wasn't dead.

And now, he wished nothing more than to see his family for the last time, even if for a minute or two. But fate had led him this far, only to kill him off in pain. Did he really deserve this fate? The skin where the tentacles held him in a tight grip was turning a deep midnight purple, and that was when they made their final move. The tentacles pulled away at his skin, and dislocated his arms and legs, and pulled even more until the skin of the elite tore. The elite had no time to scream his final breath as he was dead before he could finish thinking of his family.

Dark purple blood rained on the green sponge-like floor of the corridor, turning it into a deep purple, and drenched the elites below who had watched their teammate die, painting them in the thick and dripping liquid. Only when the dead elite's neck, body, arms and legs dropped to the ground in six different places, did the watching teammates meet the same fate.

_----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

"Alright, scout the area. If you find anything suspicious come notify me at once!" ordered Half-Jaw, as the group split up in the room and searched the area. The white spec-ops Commander walked up to a sliding door, which had the mark of an energy sword which glowed in a bright orange color, indicating that it was locked. Half-Jaw found nothing interesting about the door, but as he turned away he heard a faint shattering noise coming from the other side, followed by a few hushed whispers. He swiftly strode over to the door and listened closely to the conversation on the other side, peering through the brightness of the energy sword and trying to determine the identity of the two standing figures.

"_Fool! Look at what you have done!" said a man, glancing at the shattered flask with the chemicals spilled on the floor._

"_I'm sorry, Master! I promise it will not happen again" apologized the other man._

"_You better be sure of that, or I might as well feed you to the Flood" he said, trying to keep his temper in order._

"_Master, why are we working for the Flood anyway? Do we not have our own resources--"_

"_Silence! Of course we have enough resources, but to gain their full purposes, we must share them, which leads to your first question. We are working with the Flood to help them get what they want. And in return, the Flood leader swore an oath to help us get what we want. Do I make myself clear?"_

"_Yes, Master"_

"_Good. My hunger for blood increases every day, it would be a shame if you angered me enough to make me kill you. You do know, a painful death awaits whoever angers me..."_

"_Y-yes, master", stuttered the worker_

"_Of course, it is a shame about that Sangheili who was...unfortunately tortured to his death. After all, it was I who created the very blade which plunged through his heart"_

_'Here we go again...my master always seems to create the most vicious and brutal of weapons. Everyone in the Dark Rebellion knows he is doing it to impress his long lost love-of-his-life, as he would call it' thought the worker, of course, if his master knew what he was thinking, he would be dead and broken in the blink of an eye._

"_I suppose I should start to get serious about this, with all the opposing forces on board. I have known about them for quite some time. It is only fair that I stop toying with them like I have done so since they boarded. If they truly knew what was good for them, they would gather their remaining forces and leave..." the man trailed off, looking towards the orange glow of the energy sword._

'Impossible...he found me' thought the white spec-ops Commander, as he moved away from the door and half-ran half-jogged to the rest of the elites, where they were waiting for their Commander's findings.

End Chapter 14: Uninvited Guests

To tell you the truth, the part with the elites and all was the easiest, but it was the next scene with Cortana that I got stuck with, so I'm going to put it in the next chapter after I've modified it. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Again, sorry for the lateness of it. Please review!


	15. Leverage

Hey guys, sorry for the wait. I was fixing a few things in the previous chapters, but don't worry, they didn't do much to affect the storyline. I'd like to thank Kavek for beta-reading this chapter for me, as it is the most descriptive one so far in my opinion. Anyways, as a random thing, and I know it's kind of old, but for all those who didn't know, Halo 3 is coming out on September 25th this year! I so can't wait.

Hope you enjoy this chapter, and please review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Halo.

Chapter 15: Leverage

"Sir! Several brute dropships have been spotted on the radar, more incoming."

The messages had been going on for ages. Marines go to this, incoming brutes at that. There was no stop to it. Battle had become a synonym for 'awake,' leaving the UNSC forces exhausted, low on ammo, and high on adrenaline.

John-117 stood beside Sergeant Johnson, cradling his assault rifle in both hands, watching his HUD. There had only been small boarding parties on the Cairo thus far, nothing more. And yet the stench of dead brutes could be smelled from the other side of the human base. Corpses littered the ballistic steel of the docking bay, smoke rising from still-hot bullet holes. Sadly, many of the twisted bodies could be recognized as human.

Suddenly, the entire station thrummed with a sonic wave, then shook as another boarding craft exploded out of space and latched onto the station. John moved to the window, looking out, Johnson following him closely. "Bastards," the Sergeant muttered. "And me without a SPNKR missile."

John glanced once at his companion and smiled beneath the helmet. Then he silently returned his iron Spartan gaze to where the enemy was slicing its way into the adjacent bay. Finally, the situation required him to speak: "They'll be coming for us here - the bay next to us is empty."

Johnson nodded and chomped down on the butt of his cigar as the station shook again - then a third time as the rest of the promised Brute craft attached themselves to the Cairo platform. Turning, he jerked the bolt on his weapon, checking the magazine. Then: "Get up off your asses, Marines! More cannon fodder's on the way!"

Suddenly, there was banging on the other side of the door, just opposite of them. John readied his weapon, Johnson doing the same.

The door rang again with multiple impacts, huge gouges suddenly appearing the steel - the brutes were trying to break in by force. The marines quickly gathered, forming a semi-circle around the door at a safe distance. "Alright boys, hold it steady" Johnson muttered.

The door vibrated again, screamed as if being tortured. Sparks exploded along the track as the humans exchanged glances, sweating, nervous. A huge, clawed, hairy fist burst through the blast door's center seam, peeling back the metal like a blown-out gun barrel. One Marine raised his battle rifle and sent a few three-round burst through the opening. Roars of rage were heard, and suddenly, the door blasted open, and brutes charged in blindly.

The front rank of brutes rushed for the first line of marines, while the back rows opened fire from a further range. At a shout from Johnson, the marines opened up on the brutes with precision bursts. Once again, it became all too obvious that the Covenant forces could take far too many bullets before they fell, their thick skin and matted fur absorbing the blows of the 7.62 mm ammo that the humans used.

Head shot, one kill. Two shots, one at shoulder, another in the neck. Another kill. The Master Chief wasted no time in killing his enemies.

The wave of Brutes subsided with the shrieks of the wounded, and scattered pops as the surviving UNSC quickly executed the survivors with well-placed bullets. John-117 quickly located Johnson as the rest of the marines pushed towards the broken doors to secure the next bay.

"Next time, leave some for me," commented Johnson, as they entered the next room. "Just be faster next time, old man," answered the Chief.

A quick examination of the bay showed that only one Brute ship had attached to that bay. This meant that the other two ships must have latched onto the Pelican warehouse one corridor over. At some orders from Johnson, the Marines quickly moved to set up the oncoming enemy for an ambush. As they worked, the Chief could hear marines arguing across the corridor.

"Hey guys, beat three kills!"

"I'd be happy to! Beat five, losers!

"Ha! Beat six!"

"I got six and a half!" a fourth marine shot back. Everyone turned to look at him.

"What? He was half dead when I found him! Doesn't it count as half a kill?"

His companions just sighed: 'whatever', 'smart ass', and started laughing.

John couldn't help but be in an alert but relaxed mood. He had slipped into that mysterious state of consciousness that was referred to as 'Spartan time.' He was fighting like the well-oiled machine he had been trained to be: efficient, accurate, smooth, not rushed. Maybe it was the three hours of sleep he had, that regenerated his system over time. Maybe it was the fact that one of his closest friends was in the hands of the enemy, and he had to do everything in his ability to bring her back. Or maybe it was the fact that Earth would be in greater danger if he and the rest of the marines didn't win this battle. In all cases, whatever reason it truly was, John had strict orders to follow. Yet a small voice at the back of his head would always chime in and tell him that one day, even he would break the rules.

Suddenly, John's advanced hearing picked up a high pitched whine. "Bomb!" he shouted, and dove behind cover.

He was just in time: a huge detonation blew the next set of doors inward, and heavily armored brutes came in, crouching behind shielded jackals. Hot red plasma seared the air as they laced across the room, splashing on steel and filling the room with crackling magnetism and the stench of burning metal. The Marines returned fire, but even their weapons couldn't break through the Jackals' shield - at least, not fast enough.

There was only one good way to settle this. John reached for a grenade, pulled the pin on top, and lobbed it in an arc so that it landed between the Brutes and the Jackals. He counted - _one, two _- and was rewarded with a fiery explosion. The Jackals were slammed forward by the concussion, losing their grips on their shields, shrieking in agony as the Brutes behind them reeled, blinded by shrapnel. Now the Marines were free to fire. One by one, the brutes were shot and killed, and subsequently trampled by the marines, enraged at their casualties, filled with blood lust.

John stepped through the smoking remains of the blast door, and was met with something of a surprise. The huge, cross-seamed bomb bay doors that opened into dead space had been blown open with plasma torpedoes, and replaced with a Covenant free-electron shield projector. A Phantom dropship was parked atop the smoldering wreckage of two Pelicans, flanked by two smaller Covenant Shadows.

Sergeant Johnson was in the lead. Slipping around the corner of the door, he poked out of his weapon, scanned ahead. "Clear!" The marine next to Johnson moved up another few steps, took cover behind a bulkhead, and scouted the area. "Clear!"

The Master Chief and the rest of the marines moved up, each looking to their sides, and the back, while the leading two looked to the front. They wove a path through the twisted metal that scarred the bay, guns up, trigger fingers ready.

Suddenly, the lead Marine raised two fingers. TEAMCOM crackled in John's helmet.

"Sarge, we got two brute guards up ahead," came the harsh whisper.

"Cap 'em," Johnson ordered.

The hushed whispers stopped, and two simultaneous gunshots broke the silence. Two soft 'thuds' were heard as the brute bodies dropped to the ground.

The Master Chief boarded the Covenant Phantom, followed by the Sergeant and the marines. "All right, listen up, girl scouts! You know what the Admiral said. After we land this Covenant pile of junk in one of those flagships, we're gonna push our way to the control room, and kill anything that gets in our way! Once there, we shall proceed to disembowel the split-jawed enemy in the most badass way the UNSC can muster! You with me marines?" Johnson snarled.

"Sir, yes sir!"

The Sergeant's eyes narrowed, and he nodded sharply. "Alright, we're goin' in."

The Phantom jerked downwards slightly as the engines started off, rising unevenly, then turning. It slid through the shield as if it were a soap bubble, the ship slightly deforming the energy field, then slipping through it into deep space.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Arbiter shot plasma at the moving infection forms. Things had started getting

hectic as he and his group delved closer toward High Charity's core.

"Quickly, above!" shouted a Sangheili warrior, as a few members of the group turned their weapons to the ceiling and shot at jumping combat forms. "Arbiter, we have to push further! The parasite will overpower us if we do not move!".

The Arbiter glanced at the golden-armored zealot shooting at the oncoming Flood. He was right. The Flood was increasing each wave; there was no way their weapons would last.

The Arbiter called to his brothers, made the signal, and raced to the exit, turning, spraying his weapon at the oncoming monstrosities, being careful not to trip over the pulsing Flood blobs on the ground. One by one, each remaining Sangheili and Unggoy ran through the open door, with the Lekgolo pair following last. The Hunters turned and backed out of the room, setting their shields forward, using the huge ballistic plates to hurl back the deformed, rotting combat forms that mindlessly hurled themselves at the superior foe.

The Arbiter stood ready by the door, hand on the controls, waiting tensely until the Lekgolo suddenly rolled back from the door. "Go!" one shouted, voice deep with subsonic energy. The Arbiter slammed the control and the doors snapped shut, right onto an attacking combat form. The doors jerked, and finally smashed together, spraying thick, sticky matter onto the raised shields of the Lekgolo. The Unggoy shrieked as one of the combat form's tentacles cut off and landed in front of them.

Moving quickly, and without orders, the Sangheili pushed bits of broken metal and large debris to barricade the doorway. There was pounding on the door as the Flood tried to gain access, but failed. The Arbiter turned to see some Sangheili resting against the walls of High Charity and the Unggoy still shaking in fear. The Lekgolo could have been mistaken for being calm and collected if it wasn't for their uneven breathing.

"Is everyone alright?" asked the Arbiter. His breathing was harsh and rapid as he tried to regain his breath. There were soft murmurs and hushed voices as the rest of the group replied. The Arbiter nodded, checked the lateral line on his plasma rifle. Half a charge. It would do.

Just then, there was a soft sound of feet on the floor echoing around them, then focusing from one of the three corridors available to them. "Listen..".

A few distant shouts and curses could be heard, followed by gunfire. The curious group cautiously approached the left corridor, which was lit more brightly than the rest, and peered through the jammed sliding doors.

The first thing they saw was the Flood, fighting what seemed to be...another battle group? The next thing that was most obvious to the Arbiter was a familiar figure fighting amongst the rest of the Sangheili; the white spec-ops commander RtasVadumee. The Arbiter readied his weapon and signaled to the Hunters, which gladly blasted the doors open. At an order from the Arbiter, his battle group exploded into the room and opened fire.

A few moments of frenzied combat ensued, and when the dust settled, the Covenant was victorious.

Flood-infected corpses were scattered on the uneven ground of High Charity, their thick green blood splattered all over the mutated walls. "It is good to see you alive, Brother," said the Commander, as he approached the Arbiter. "You too, Commander. Have you discovered anything between the time of our departure?" the Arbiter asked, as both groups finally surrounded the two leaders to hear their findings. "Yes, a strange piece to a never ending puzzle, I assume."

The Arbiter listened intently as the white spec-ops Commander explained the odd conversation he had overheard while he was searching for answers.

"So, now we have a new enemy to deal with?" It was more of a statement than a question. The Commander replied to the Arbiter, "It seems so. But, I must take this matter up with the General, maybe he has heard something about this 'Rebellion'."

The Arbiter nodded. "I believe we still need to finish our original mission, brother. To leave, or to change objectives now is simply not an option." RtasVadumee nodded by way of reply. "Lead on, Arbiter. You are the arm, we are the blade."

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"Are we there yet?"

"Shut up!"

For what seemed like hours, the marines had silently killed off any Brutes, Jackals, or Drones they saw on the large flagship they had landed on. But since no one knew the real structure of a flagship, they had to rely on Johnson's knowledge to get them to the main control room. "Alright, make sure that left corner's clear!" Sergeant Johnson ordered silently.

"Are you sure, Sarge? Last time we took the left corner, I swear we ended up in a brute bathhouse.."

"Are you refusing my orders, marine?"

"N-no sir"

"Good, now listen up. A little bird told me the control room's just around the corner, so lets clear that corridor fast. Let's move!" Johnson finished, as the marines started moving up, and jumped around the corner and faced the brutes.

The huge, hulking creatures stopped short, stunned, unable to move.

This left them completely exposed to the resulting wave of thousands of hollow-tip bullets and fragmentation grenades turning the control room into a firestorm of destruction. The command crew fell almost immediately, shot to bloody rags.

The Master Chief shot at the small amount of brutes coming in from behind. Although the battle had been kept simple, clearing the corridor had been proven harder than expected. As John killed off a brute, another one jumped at him from above. Spinning, John kicked the occupied brute hard in his guts, and turned his weapon and shot the flying brute in the air. Instant action. He had to move to dodge the huge, dead lump of fur flying towards him, and shot the body again after it landed, moving fluidly, as if he were a liquid. The brute which had been kicked recovered and launched itself at the Chief, but the Spartan ruled this battlefield as if he were Ares himself. He simply dodged and shot from behind. His impossibly fast eyes caught the sight of his three bullets piercing the brain case of the creature. The brute died in a bloody heap on the floor.

John-117 looked over to the marines as the last brute slumped down against a wall. Finally, the corridor was clear. Sergeant Johnson took this moment to say, "Alright, men. The Chief and I are going in first, the rest will follow silently after my signal. Do I make myself clear?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

The hissing of the sliding doors made every marine, every step, and every breath silent. The Master Chief stepped inside, crouching and holding his battle rifle at the ready, Sergeant Johnson following behind closely. The marines at the back split into two groups, each following one of their leaders. The Master Chief looked around one corner, clear, stepped around another wall; all clear. He met up with Sergeant Johnson at the front of the control room. "Looks like nobody's home" said a marine. "Yeah, looks like the guys we killed outside were the last of them" said another marine, who was reloading his assault rifle.

Sergeant Johnson gave one nod to the Chief who walked up to the clear holographic Covenant screen, and started to punch in a few codes. He had heard Cortana talk about numerous hacking codes on their many missions, just in case he ended up on his own for a while.

"_Chief, I'm gonna download these hacking codes in the memory space of your armor. You can access them whenever you need to use them. One day, you'll thank me for this"_

The memory played in his head as the final code was punched in. Although none of the marines understood the lettering and symbols of the Covenant language, the green text that appeared on the holographic screen was enough to convince them that they had gained access into the Covenant network. Multiple codes started appearing over the green text, and increased until they all disappeared, and were replaced by a single image with what seemed to be a heat meter beside it.

The image showed the plasma stored in the multiple turrets of the long flagship. Bit by bit, the red line at the bottom of the heat meter started rising up until it stopped halfway, which was where the plasma's heat level was at that moment. "We have an hour before the plasma overheats," said the Chief. "By that time, we should be a safe distance from the flagship when it detonates."

"Alright then, saddle up - let's head back to the Phantom so we can watch this thing blow up!" Johnson ordered, as the marines followed the Master Chief out of the control room, and back towards the Phantom.

The group was reaching the first main room they had entered on their way in. It was a large circular room used for gatherings and such, strange letters and symbols decorated the dark purple walls. It was decided that the large room would be used as a meeting spot in case anyone was split up from the main group, as it was hard to miss.

As they passed the sliding doors, they were forced to stop as a large figure in the middle of the room awaited them. "So you finally decide to show up, vermin," the large, muscular brute said. He had a large headpiece adorning his head, with a large amount of armor engraved with symbols and patterns covering his body, arms and legs. Barely any patches of white fur was visible between the bulky armor.

But the most obvious part of the high-ranked brute was the large hammer he carried in his right, grizzly hand. It looked as if it were crafted with no imperfection, no crack on it's smooth surface. The patterns carved on the strong pole supporting the top of the hammer were elegant and designed, but something was a bit peculiar about the weapon. The hammer had a powerful aura around it. It seemed to be glowing a misty blue and purple around each edge of the hammer, crackling with pure energy. Johnson could of sworn he had seen something like that in the past...

"It seems I am the only obstacle preventing you from escaping" the brute said, as he observed the smaller humans on the other side of the room.

"I wouldn't be makin' any moves if I were you. Now step aside, and we might consider letting you live" said Sergeant Johnson, flashing the creature a mealy smile.

"Your courage amuses me, human. Maybe, some proper leverage will change your decision."

The brute gestured to a pillar on his left where a hologram of an unconscious woman shimmered blue in the air. The Master Chief immediately recognized her as his missing human-AI, Cortana. The brute chuckled as he said, "She belongs to us, vermin. If you want her back, you will have to fight for her. Not that you will get much of a choice."

The marines turned their heads to look behind them as the sliding doors hissed shut and locked; they were trapped. "Now that I have successfully gained your interest, maybe you will change your initial thoughts?" the brute grinned madly as he readied his hammer.

End Chapter 15: Leverage

Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please review!


	16. The End, Or Is It?

Alright guys, It's been a very...very...VERY long time since I updated, and I apologize greatly, but I've lost all spark to this story, AND my ideas. Unfortunately, this will be the last chapter I write for this story, so I truly hope you enjoy it. I'd like to thank all those who've reviewed so far, you have all been really great and I wouldn't of got this far without you guys. Again, I apologize for the long wait. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Also, many thanks to my beta-reader Kavek, who totally rocks! Thanks for everything!

P.S: I've been looking back at my other chapters, and I went, "Holy fudge! The Author's Notes are as long as the bloody story story itself!" Hehe, sorry about that : P

Disclaimer: As much as I hate to admit it, I do not own Halo. But IF I did...Evil Cackle

Chapter 16: The End...Or Is It?

"Uhh, Sir? Orders?" asked a marine nervously, aware of the rippling aura around the brute's mighty hammer.

"Just don't get too close. Chief? How much time's left?" asked the Sergeant.

"Forty-five minutes" the Master Chief replied, lifting his assault rifle and aiming it at the brute.

Sergeant Johnson nodded and lifted his assault rifle, and motioned for the marines to do the same with their guns. Slowly, the marines split up into two lines, and started circling the brute in a wide circle. The brute roared and slammed his hammer on the ground, making a dent in the strong metal.

Sergeant Johnson watched as the marines awaited his order. _Alright, it's now, or never. _"Fire!" barked Johnson. As the bullets neared the target, the brute lifted his hammer and put it protectively over his chest, and a shimmering, transparent shield appeared around him. The bullets ricocheted off the walls and made a soft chime as they landed on the steel floor, their golden shine lost as the plasma shield burned them.

The brute snarled, "Pathetic humans! Your measly weapons will do no harm whilst this shield is activated!".

Something in Sergeant Johnson's head clicked that moment, and he opened up his TEAMCOM and ordered the marines, "Wait 'till that shield's down, then let him have it!". The Sergeant watched as the marines exchanged knowing glances, and waited steadily for the shimmer of the shield to disappear.

It didn't take long for the brute to discover the human's plans, so he took his chance to charge at the closest marine. "Peters! Watch out" shouted a marine. Although his marine training kicked in long before his comrade called out to him, the brute's speed, even with the heavy armor on, was still fast enough to knock Peters out before he was safely out of range.

"Peters! God dammit!" Corporal Michaels shouted over the noise of gunfire aimed at the brute, yet he never left his position.

_Dammit. The shield isn't down yet. Those marines are gonna get killed if they continue wasting their ammo._ The Master Chief could only watch as the marines fired their guns at the brute, as the bullets merely dropped before the shield. The brute was now charging fiercely at the marines, the bullets unable to keep up with brute's speed. Suddenly, there was a small spark on the shield, and the shiny surface surrounding the brute disappeared.

John-117 knew what to do. He aimed his assault rifle at the brute's vital points._ His neck would be a good target, although the opening's pretty narrow. I should slow him down first. His leg's got a fair opening, but there's still a chance I'd hit the armor instead._ All of this was going through John's head in the time it took to steady his assault rifle and shoot at the brute's leg.

Three shots in his left leg, two in his right, and two that dented the armor slightly. The brute roared as a bullet came through the opening behind his left knee. "You will pay for that, human scum!" he roared, as he charged towards the Master Chief.

John-117 noticed the brute limp for a second before leaping into the air. The shield chose this moment to crackle to life as the brute was in mid-air, and the Master Chief merely stepped aside as if he saw everything in slow motion. _Dammit. This will take longer than necessary_ John thought, as he kept dodging the brute's attempts to tackle him.

Suddenly, the brute changed his path, and headed straight for a marine, swinging his hammer towards him, and beheading the unfortunate soldier. The body dropped, limp and motionless on the ground, and the brute launched himself in the air as his shield disappeared.

"Ah, dammit! He's movin' too fast, I can't get a clear shot!" a marine yelled over the gunfire.

"Shut your yappin' and start shootin', marine!" Johnson ordered, as he managed to get a few shots.

The Master Chief landed some shots in the brute's belly, before dodging another one of the brute's aerial strikes. _That hammer needs to go_ he thought, before shooting at the brute's hammer hand. The brute roared as two bullets found their target. One was lodged in the back of his large, grizzly hand, and the other through the bone of his thick wrist. With a dull thud, the brute dropped his hammer and charged at a nearby marine.

The marine had the perfect shot, his assault rifle aimed at the brute's eye, if it wasn't for the shield crackling to life again. The brute collided with the marine, sending him flying into the wall. His skull cracked loudly with the hard impact, killing him instantly.

John-117 had seen this tactic with the brutes before. If a brute was the last one standing in a group of enemies, they would start charging mercilessly at them. In this case, it meant that the brute had almost reached his limit, and was at the point of desperation. "You waste my time, vermin!" the brute growled, as he charged at another marine. The brute was merely picking the marines off one by one.

If that shield didn't go down soon, the entire squad could be dead within moments. A spine tingling scream could be heard as the brute tore open another marine's body. _Come on, dammit_, John said in his head, as he reloaded his weapon. He aimed his assault rifle at the brute, trying to get the perfect shot. It seemed like forever when the shield finally disappeared, giving John the shot he wanted.

The brute saw what he was doing, and leaped to the side, flinging himself at the calm Spartan. It was still useless. John stepped aside and shot at the opening in the back of the brute's neck, which took in the bullets like jelly would to a spoon. John heard the bullets crack the bone in the brute's neck, which finally killed him.

The brute fell forward into a furry heap on the floor, blood pouring from his neck and onto the floor. Sergeant Johnson observed the damage in the room. Four dead marines, a few minor injuries, and a dead brute. "Chief, how much time's left?" Johnson asked, as the remaining marines collected the guns, ammo and dog tags of their dead comrades.

"Thirty-three minutes" the Chief replied.

Sergeant Johnson nodded. "Alright, marines. Let's get goin' before more of those bastards show up" he said, as they headed towards the exit and back towards the Phantom. Something in the Master Chief's head clicked that moment, and he came to a halt just meters before the Phantom. Johnson saw him stop and looked back. "Chief?" Johnson asked.

The Master Chief replied, "Cortana. We have to go back now".

Sergeant Johnson pondered for a moment, before nodding. "Alright marines, get her started up! The Chief and I have to go find a certain someone. If we're not back before twenty minutes..." Johnson didn't need to continue. The marines understood. "Corporal Michaels, you're in charge".

"Yes, sir" Michaels replied, as he started giving orders to his marines.

Sergeant Johnson turned to the Spartan. "Alright, Chief. Lead the way".

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"_I believe we still need to finish our original mission, _brother. To leave, or to change objectives now is simply not an option." RtasVadumee nodded by way of reply. "Lead on, Arbiter. You are the arm, we are the blade."

"The stench is getting stronger, we must be close" said RtasVadumee, as he used his energy sword to cut through the tentacles hanging from the ceiling. It was hard to make as little noise as possible, since the hunter's shields were scratching on whatever was left of the metal walls, and the elites' energy swords were tearing their way through the pulsing flood blobs on the ground to make a clear path for them.

The Arbiter looked ahead, and saw a broken sliding door with a few symbols on it; the second last obstacle to the main control room, the center of High Charity. The door creaked as the hunters pushed it apart, and the elites and the remaining grunts went through, followed by the hunters. "Leader, it very smelly here" a grunt said, who wrinkled it's nose in disgust.

The fog in this area was thick and strong. It was enough to put a human out for hours. The Arbiter could sense the discomfort in his elites. "Arbiter, orders?" asked a nearby elite.

"We keep moving until we find the heart of the parasite" the Arbiter replied.

Stepping, over the broken cables that littered the ground, the Arbiter turned a corner, with the rest of his battle group following him. "Brothers, be prepared. We are nearing the control room" RtasVadumee said, as the rest of the elites readied their energy swords.

The entrance of the control room was too foggy to be seen through. None of them expected what was on the other side of it. The hunters charged in first and shielded themselves, while the grunts poured through the middle first, followed by the elites. The Arbiter looked around the control room for any hostiles, but there were none. The hunters continued to maintain a defensive position should anything happen, but the grunts had already lowered their weapons.

The elites walked around cautiously, observing their surroundings. A lot of broken equipment and cables, a few shattered screens and lots of Flood blobs and tentacles. Other than that, they were well enough alone. As the Arbiter walked by a still-intact screen, he found an abandoned data chip placed beside it. Suspiciously, the data chip was fairly clean, like it was recently placed there.

RtasVadumee walked up beside the Arbiter, who had uploaded the data chip into the terminal beside the screen. The screen immediately sparked up to life, the contents of the data chip rolling on the screen. After a few seconds, the screen disappeared, only to be replaced by a message.

_//DataMessage//_

_Dear Unfortunate Reader, _

_From this very room, I have watched many of you fight and die for what you hope to achieve. I will tell you this; what you seek is not here, for 'it' is about to leave and wreak chaos on those who oppose it. I suppose I should congratulate you on coming this far; congratulations. But I am sorry to say your futile efforts have been wasted. Upon viewing the contents of the data chip, you have unknowingly activated a self-destruct mechanism in High Charity. I wish you luck on your way out. I truly hope we do meet again...if you survive. Farewell._

_//EndMessage//_

"_15 minutes until self destruct"_ a voice rang out amongst High Charity. The Arbiter swore under his breath. It took them well over half an hour to get to the control room, but get out in fifteen minutes? What was even more mysterious was this anonymous...person, perhaps, who was toying with them..trying to kill them all from the start of their venture into High Charity.

"Impossible! We will never make it to the_ Undying Justice_ in time if we head back the way we came" growled an elite zealot.

RtasVadumee thought to himself. _If we cannot go back the way came, then we must..._

"We must go down the emergency exit. It will not take too long to reach, but it will be more perilous. From what I can recall, it leads straight to a landing bay. I am certain that there would be a functional phantom there" RtasVadumee said quickly. He looked to the Arbiter to see if he approved of the plan.

The Arbiter nodded. "We must hope that the rest of our brothers--". The Arbiter stopped as he heard footsteps, and held his sword at the ready. "Be quiet! I know I heard someone there" said a low voice. The Arbiter activated his camouflage and crept up towards a corner, gripped his energy sword tighter and jumped around the wall, only to be met with...

**CLASH! **Another energy sword. "By the rings, Arbiter! You're alive" said a zealot, as he lowered his energy sword. "Good to see you, brother, but we must not waste anymore time. We must escape High Charity" the Arbiter said, as he brought the battle group into the center of the control room.

"So I've heard" the zealot said. "Do you have a plan, Arbiter?".

The Arbiter motioned towards the words 'emergency exit' written in Covenant lettering above a large foggy corridor. The zealot took his place up front with the Arbiter and RtasVadumee, with the combined battle groups following behind closely.

"There are two main obstacles that stand against us. The ceremonial chamber, and the landing bay itself" RtasVadumee said, as the battle groups ran towards the first door.

"_10 minutes until self destruct"_

"I have no doubt that each will contain time-consuming Flood. We cannot risk killing them all" the white spec-ops commander continued, as he sliced through a hanging tentacle.

"So, in other words, brother," the zealot said, "is that we must push through the Flood as fast as we can, while racing against time, with Flood chasing us on our heels throughout High Charity and survive at the same time?".

The zealot moved to the side as a pair of Hunters blasted through the shut doors. "Precisely" RtasVadumee said, and gripped his energy sword tighter.

"Interesting" the zealot said, as he, the Arbiter and white spec-ops commander charged towards the Flood in the ceremonial chamber, the battle groups firing mercilessly at the Flood, and the Hunters using their cannons to clear the path much faster.

The combined battle groups worked quickly to eliminate whatever Flood blocked their path, stepping over the dead, lifeless Flood forms. The Arbiter swung his energy sword and sliced a brute flood form in half, and quickly turned around to decapitate another one. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted another brute about to deliver the final blow to one of the elites, and he quickly grabbed a beam rifle off a dead body and shot the brute, narrowly missing the elite's neck.

RtasVadumee shouted over the gunfire. "We must hurry, we have done all we can in this area". The three battle groups quickly finished off their advancing foes, and hurried through the door where the white spec-ops commander was standing by. After everyone was through, RtasVadumee quickly turned to the controls beside the door, and entered the code to permanently lock it. The Flood pounded on the now locked door, but it was useless. The battle groups quickly followed each of their leaders down the corridor, the green fog clearing up; they knew they were reaching the landing bay.

"_6 minutes until self destruct"_

The announcement only made the battle groups more determined to get to the landing bay. As the remainder of them reached the door before the landing bay, the zealot spoke. "Brothers, from now on, we must stick together. If we get separated, there is a chance one or more of us will be left behind".

RtasVadumee nodded, and looked towards the hunters, which made a soft high pitched sound. As two hunters took the lead and charged their fuel rod cannons, the elites tightened their grip on their energy swords, while the remaining four hunters split up to shield the elites battle formation; one hunter on each side and two shielding the back.

For a few precious seconds, everything seemed to go in slow motion, until the powerful green blast of the hunters' fuel rod cannons tore the doors open. The Flood in the landing bay shrieked as their newly found victims charged in and mercilessly tore through them. Ugly, pulsing, mutated body parts flew through the air as the elites killed everything in sight, while their Commander, RtasVadumee, looked for a decent phantom.

The white spec-ops Commander narrowed his eyes as he spotted a phantom almost devoid of any Flood growths. "Over there, near the middle of the bay. We must push towards the Phantom" RtasVadumee ordered over the high-pitched Flood shrieks, while charging forward and slashing through brute flood forms. Some elites pulled out their long range weapons as some Flood-form drones buzzed overhead, firing their needlers.

"_5 minutes until self destruct"_

An elite growled as the needler bullets pierced his armor, his shield almost reaching zero percent. "Take out the drones!" he yelled over the gunfire, and a hunter charged his fuel rod cannon and aimed it at a wall where a swarm of drones were shooting from. Several of the drones around the blast fell off the wall, killed on impact. As the hunters worked on the drones with some elites shooting with their long range weapons, the front line worked their way through the oncoming Flood towards the Phantom.

"_4 minutes until self destruct"_

RtasVadumee growled, and forced himself to kill the Flood faster. They were almost there, they had come so far. _To die now is no option, we _will_ make it off High Charity alive,_ he said to himself. The phantom was only a few meters away, and very few Flood were protecting it.

The Arbiter sliced through the last Flood form in front of him before running towards the Phantom to activate the grav-lift. The floor beneath the Phantom rumbled as the grav-lift activated and the engines roared to life. The Arbiter, RtasVadumee and the zealot stayed behind as the rest fought through the last few oncoming Flood forms.

"_2 minutes until self destruct"_

A high pitched shriek filled the air, and a far wall in the landing bay exploded, a huge flame erupting from the large hole. The zealot quickly entered the Phantom, then RtasVadumee, and the Arbiter last. A nearby scarlet elite closed the grav lift as a blue-armored elite flew the Phantom forward, the speed increasing by the second, but then dropping all of a sudden.

"We must go faster, at this rate, the flames will swallow us whole!" RtasVadumee growled out loud. The blue-armored elite looked under pressure, visibly trying to keep himself from panicking. "There is something amiss with one of the engines, I am doing what I can to resolve the problem" the blue-armored elite said. The Arbiter watched a screen showing the majority of High Charity explode in flames, and shaking itself apart.

The blue-armored elite tapped buttons rapidly on the control panel in front of him, "It is done! Reaching full speed in five". The members on board the Phantom braced themselves as the Phantom sped up, all of them watching a screen showing High Charity detonate in a blinding white light, all thinking the same thing. _"The Flood has been vanquished, and we can all go home"_...but they didn't realize how wrong they were.

End Chapter 16: The End...Or Is It?

Well guys, this is it. Ending a story has to be one of the hardest things you could possible do, you always feel like there's something missing, you know? Oh, and if you haven't noticed, I have a HUGE thing for detonations and self-destruct sequences and stuff like that.

Anyways, I would like some reviews on this chapter, it really doesmake me happy when peoplesay something nice.I don't mindconstructive criticism, but no flames please!If you have any questions about this story or anything like that, feel free to ask. Again, I'd like to thank all of you who've reviewed and supported me over the months I've worked on this story, you guys have been AWESOME!! Hope you enjoyed the story!

Until next time in a different Halo story (hopefully),

MizzStarlight


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